The Spiritual Wisdom of India, New Volume 1: About my search for happiness and the truth in life with Indian gurus and palm leaf astrologers

THE SPIRITUAL WISDOM OF INDIA

About my search for happiness and the truth in life with Indian gurus and palm leaf astrologers

Lisbeth Ejlertsen

THE SPIRITUAL WISDOM OF INDIA, New Volume 1

– About my search for happiness and the truth in life with Indian gurus and palm leaf astrologers

© 2019 FlowLab by Lisbeth Ejlertsen. All rights reserved

Second English edition 2019, published by FlowLab 17/11/2019

ISBN: 978-87-999608-6-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-87-999608-7-3 (hc) 

ISBN: 978-87-999608-8-0 (e)

ISBN: 978-87-999608-9-7 (audio) – may come

Web page for this book: www.thespiritualwisdomofindia.com

Translation in English by Diane McKennell

Cover design: Henriette Mørk, www.henriettemork.dk

Cover photo: Shutterstock

Author photo: Robert Grant

Interior setup: Pia Britt Jensen, PBJ-Sats, www.pbj-sats.dk

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First English edition 2017, published by AuthorHouse and © Lisbeth Ejlertsen

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6655-2 (sc), ISBN: 978-1-5246-6656-9 (hc), ISBN: 978-1-5246-6654-5 (e)

New since 2017: Few updates inside the book, reviews added at the back of the book, new cover

Danish edition 2017, © FlowLab by Lisbeth Ejlertsen

ISBN: 978-87-999608-0-4 (sc with flaps)

ISBN: 978-87-999608-1-1 (e)

ISBN: 978-87-999608-5-9 (audio) – will be coming in 2020

First Danish edition 2003, © SphinX Forlag and Lisbeth Ejlertsen, ISBN: 87-7759-213-1

New since 2003: New foreword, new structure, updated chapters, new postscript, new cover

Another book in Danish by the same author:

FLOW – FØLG GLÆDEN OG ENERGIEN

Copyright 2017, © FlowLab by Lisbeth Ejlertsen

ISBN: 978-87-999608-2-8 (sc with flaps)

ISBN: 978-87-999608-3-5 (e-book)

ISBN: 978-87-999608-4-2 (audio) – will be coming later in 2020

First edition 2007, © Rosinante/GB-forlagene A/S and Lisbeth Ejlertsen, ISBN: 978-87-638-0581-0

New since 2007: The ISBN numbers, the e-book and the coming audiobook

Copyright 2019, © FlowLab by Lisbeth Ejlertsen, Denmark

[email protected], www.flowlab.one

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR

Facts about the book

Background

The book chose me

2003: 1st publication – in Danish

2017: 2nd publication – in Danish and English

2019: 3rd publication – all English editions now published by FlowLab

The book follows my journey through 25 years

Target Group

Read all of it or just selected chapters

Preface 1994 – A life-changing journey to India in 1994

My search brought me to India

Who are we as human beings?

What is the meaning of life?

The spiritual roots of India

Gurus and Palm Leaf Astrologers

My starting point

Personal experiences with other dimensions

Open and ready

Preface 1997 – 3 years after the trip

Preface 2001 – 7 years after the trip

Preface 2017 – 23 years after the trip

Preface 2019 – 25 years after the trip

Volume 2 will be published in 2020

Acknowledgments!

DEDICATION

To my two Masters …

THE SPIRITUAL WISDOM OF INDIA

Map of India

THE SPECIAL QUALITY OF INDIA

The allure of India

My destinations

About searching for happiness

The Reunion

The Spiritual Face of India

Religions versus the Spiritual Philosophy of Life

INDIAN SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY

A simple approach to important concepts …

The Vedas – the Oldest Scriptures in the World

The Vedas as a Concept

The Rishis – the great seers of the past

The word OM or AUM – the Universal Sound

Sanskrit – The Sacred Language

Mantra – Sacred Words

The Upanishads – The Spiritual Philosophy of Life

The Vedanta Philosophy: Everything is oneness

The Yoga Philosophy: 8 steps to realisation

Kali Yuga: Our era

HINDUISM

The influence of Hinduism throughout the ages

The Bhagavadgita – the Hindu Bible

The Concept of Bhakti: Devotional love

The symbolic language of Hinduism

The Image Symbolism of the Elephant God

The Infinite Universe – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

Yantra – Geometric Symbols

INDIA TODAY – THE LAND OF CONTRASTS

There is something for all the senses

A SPECIAL PALM LEAF ASTROLOGER

A little about astrologers and palm leaf astrologers

My first experience with an Indian Palmist

The Meeting with the Special Palm Leaf Astrologer

The Appearance of the Palm Leaves

About the information on my palm leaf

Listen to a little of the recording from the session

How to make use of this

How the Palm Leaves call you

Is Palm Leaf Astrology a Con or a Fact?

Information on prices and places

INDIAN GURUS AND MY EXPERIENCES WITH THEM

What is a guru?

The Task of the True Gurus

My aim in visiting gurus

Ashram: A home for gurus and their students

My attitude to life and God

My reactions to the presence of the gurus

A possible explanation for their influence

General remarks about the messages of the four gurus

My experiences with and impressions of each guru

Swamiji

Sai Baba

Amma

Papaji

The addresses of the gurus

BACK IN DENMARK

A completely different world ...

POSTSCRIPT 1997 – 3 YEARS AFTER THE TRIP

I meet a new Master and seek clarity

The Master Chariji

My introduction to Sahaj Marg

Transmission – the unique aspect of Sahaj Marg

The Sahaj Marg meditation system in practice

The underlying philosophy of Sahaj Marg

Sahaj Marg’s connection with Raja Yoga

Briefly about the cleaning in Sahaj Marg

Definition of the Self and the mind

Meditation in Sahaj Marg

What is meditation actually?

Why meditation is a necessary instrument

Constant Remembrance – a Shortcut

Description of the divine state

Is it necessary to have a spiritual Master?

When is a guru a true Master?

How do you find Your Master?

Why only one Master?

Prayer – to whom and for what?

My personal experience with Sahaj Marg

The Seminar in Denmark in 1995

Finding the path to happiness

Sahaj Marg and SRCM – international

POSTSCRIPT 2001 – 7 YEARS AFTER THE TRIP

Has the journey in 1994 influence on my life today?

How the palm leaf prophecies worked out

Would I recommend a palm leaf astrologer?

Latest news on the special palm leaf astrologer

Newest facts about the gurus I visited in 1994

Swamiji

Sai Baba

Amma

Papaji

My relationship with Sahaj Marg and Chariji today

Experiences in Tiruppur, India, 2001

My search for happiness and the truth in life

My goals now and in the future

POSTSCRIPT 2017 – 23 YEARS AFTER THE TRIP

Chariji remained my Master

Chariji’s successor: Kamlesh D. Patel – Daaji

Heartfulness

What Heartfulness offers

Heartfulness Magazine

Heartfulness – towards the future

Heartfulness logo

Further information

New book in 2020: My 25 years with the Master

Happiness and the truth in life

SOURCES

Sources concerning Indian spiritual philosophy and Hinduism

Sources concerning the four gurus

Sources concerning the postscripts

Sources concerning some illustrations

ADDENDUM

Quotes from the hard cover flaps

This book – Volume 1: The full back cover blurb

About the author

This book – also in Danish

The coming volume 2: The full back cover blurb

REVIEW IN DENMARK

REVIEWS FROM ABROAD

Excellent reviews from American professional reviewers

The US Reviews of Books

Kirkus Reviews

Pacific Book Review

FOREWORD

The quest for Truth or God or Reality in man cannot be traced to any specific period or place. It led man to not only go deeper into the core of his heart, but also to different places in search of a competent Master who could show the path to realize the Truth hidden in oneself. Thus many people left their homes seeking the guidance of such Masters who usually lived in seclusion, in caves, forests, or mountains, beyond the reach of common man. Millions of others remained content worshipping gods with different names and forms in Temples and other places of worship, often leading to pilgrimage to sacred places.

India is the homeland of spirituality. For several hundred years it has attracted people from different parts of the globe seeking higher knowledge. India is also the land where innumerable texts on varied subjects of Arts, Science, Spirituality, Yoga, Law, Codes of conduct etc. have been written to guide men in the right path. It is said that when Alexander the Great asked his Master Aristoteles before embarking on his long tour to distant lands what he wanted, Aristoteles said: If you go to Indika (India) bring a holy man with whom I can discuss things 1.

Such is the glory of this holy land that many travellers from Greece, Italy, China, Arabia and other countries have visited this land, travelled length and breadth of this country and documented their appreciation with awe and wonder. Even after numerous invasions by foreigners who tried to force their ideologies, religious beliefs, customs etc. on to the men of this land, it stands tall without losing its cultural identity, true to the saying that just like all the water falling from the sky reaches the ocean in the form of various rivers, all the prayers addressed to different gods reach but one God.

Vedas are the oldest specimen of literature in this world and they originated in India. Rigveda, the oldest text of this, declares boldly that: There is one Reality, but the learned speak of it in different ways (Rigveda I.164.46). The Vedic saints had the wisdom and humility to say: Let the noble thoughts come to us from all directions (Rigveda I.89.1).

In the 19th and 20th centuries great saints like Swami Vivekananda and Rev. Babuji Maharaj (Shri Ram Chandraji of Shahjahanpur, U.P., India), attracted thousands of seekers from all parts of the world. There have been many other religious teachers, preachers and philosophers as well who were adored by thousands of people across the globe.

Lisbeth Ejlertsen of Denmark is one such genuine seeker of Reality. In this book, The Spiritual Wisdom of India, Volume 1, she describes vividly her efforts to find solution to the purpose of her life and quench the spiritual thirst. This in turn led her to read a lot of literature pertaining to various religious and spiritual paths.

Her writings on the Vedas in this book, though very brief, are a good introduction to the sacred literature of India and have been presented without any prejudice or bias. She has also given a description of Nadi or palm-leaf manuscripts of astrology and how she met both quacks and genuine interpreters of this ancient science of astrology through which the great saints who lived several hundred years ago could predict our present and future.

Lisbeth has also recorded her experiences with four Gurus/Swamijis or spiritual guides of India who have large followers. Her respect for each one is reflected in her writings. Lisbeth’s experiences in the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga as practised by the abhyasis of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, a world-wide spiritual organization, her meetings with the great Master Rev. Chariji Maharaj (Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari) and the present Master of the system Rev. Kamaleshji, give us an input of the earnest endeavor of the pining soul to reach its destination.

One can understand from her writings that the seeker should go from external to internal, from form to formless, from mind to heart and from unreal to real.

This book would stimulate the readers to unravel the mystery of life for which one has to depend on the inner Self, which is possible through the guidance of a worthy Guru.

May this book serve all the people in this direction!

I congratulate Lisbeth Ejlertsen for writing such a wonderful book and wish her to produce more such books for the benefit of humanity!

Chennai, January 3, 2017

Dr. K.S. Balasubramanian

Deputy Director

The KSR Institute,

Mylapore, Chennai – 04.

India

1 Caturyuga Calendar of Vaivasvata Manvantara (Puranic Chronicles) by R. Parthasarathy, The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Chennai, 2015. p.8.

PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR

Facts about the book

This is a book which to me seems magical ... it is as if it has its own agenda and lives a life of its own – as if it controls me and not vice versa ...

Background

During a journey to India in 1994 I had some life-changing experiences. They led me outside the limits with which we in the West define our image of the world. I experienced that it was no coincidence that I found myself in India at precisely that point in time. At the same time I realised that precisely these experiences had been given to me, because I was meant to pass them on to others in our western part of the world.

The book chose me

When I returned to Denmark I wrote three articles during the next few months about my fascinating journey and the spiritual treasures of India. I was satisfied with the result and thus regarded my task as completed. The thought that I should write a book had never crossed my mind. Nevertheless, the reason that you are sitting with a book and not the three articles is that this book chose me … That is how I felt right from the start when I realised that the articles had to be put together and expanded into a book if the contents were to go out into the world. In this same, slightly haphazard way, the book has developed through the years. Gradually, the three articles have budded in the course of 25 years into this book with several prefaces and three postscripts. There will also be a sequel to this book which will be published in 2020. It is as if the book itself is in charge of the process.

2003: 1st publication – in Danish

The prefaces and the postscripts were written in the respective years when the book was prepared for publication: 1994, 1997, 2001 and 2017. Not until after the third preparation in 2003 did the book come on to the market in Denmark – nine years after I had written it originally.

It is interesting for me to wonder whether there might be some higher purpose with the nine-year process of publication over which I had no control. Looking back, it seems as if the book had its own agenda. I am well aware that a book is not a living being, but then there must be other powers behind it …

Although it took a lot of work to compile the articles into a book, I was pleased with the result and relieved to have reached what I thought was the end of the road. I contacted several publishers. First one publisher promised to publish – later another. However, both publishing houses cancelled the agreement when the time for publication drew near. In spite of my frustration at this, I could see with hindsight a purpose with these refusals. On both occasions I had the opportunity to add a new postscript about important steps on my continued path. Among other things, I had met a new teacher whom I found very inspiring. It felt good to be able to introduce him and the method he recommends in the postscript of 1997. In 2001 it made sense that readers could also hear the latest about the steps I have chosen to take later in life. Therefore, in the big picture, everything was in perfect order in spite of it all.

When the book was finally published in 2003, I felt a great sense of relief that the timing now seemed to be right. The many ups and downs throughout the course of things had caused my feelings towards the book to be neutralised. I had let go of all personal expectations and associations with regard to having a book published. I was very glad to place the final full stop when the book was published and let it go completely.

2017: 2nd publication – in Danish and English

Because the book had been out of my universe since 2003, I was very surprised when I received a strong appeal in 2010 to have it translated to English. Some Indian people living in Germany had seen my Danish book. They insisted that Indians living abroad love to gain insight into how foreigners experience them, their culture and their home country – and therefore I had to have the book published in English. At the same time as I received this appeal, I could feel a strong energy in my entire body. It set my skin tingling and made me listen … This feeling of energy is a well-known indicator for me that what is being said is true. Therefore, I interpreted the appeal as an instruction I could not ignore. Obviously, the book wanted to get me out on another journey. The result now in 2017 is that it has yet another postscript. Some updates have been made to the original material where the information was out-of-date or the text was unclear. The book has now been published in both a Danish and an English version and is on sale all over the world.

2019: 3rd publication – all English editions now published by FlowLab

The reason for republishing the English editions is that I also wanted them published by my own publishing company: FlowLab. Only a few updates have been made in the new version. These have also been implemented in the updated Danish e-book and in the new Danish audio book which will be released in 2020.

The book follows my journey through 25 years

The new version of the book covers a period of 25 years during which I have visited India more than 20 times – always searching deeper into the spiritual wisdom of this amazing country. From 1994 to 2019 the book has developed from being about one trip to India to being about my spiritual path of development – my soul’s journey through life. It can be said that in the course of these years I started by being curious and inquiring on the surface of the ocean of spirituality, after which I delve deeper down through the years in my quest for the source of everything.

Hearing about an interesting journey is one thing. Following a development through the years and seeing the impact such a journey can have on a person’s life is at least as interesting to me. Are the exciting experiences just colourful at the moment of occurrence, after which they fade behind the veil of oblivion? Or do the impressions and the decisions also have an impact in the long run?

My experiences between 2003 and 2019 are numerous. The present book does not have enough room for these. Therefore, a volume 2 will be published in 2020 where I will share more of my special experiences and insights from the latest period.

Target Group

This book is for anyone who is interested in learning more about present day gurus and about Eastern philosophy, culture and spirituality, and especially for those who find it fascinating when factual information is combined with my personal experiences.

Read all of it or just selected chapters

The first three chapters are an introduction to India’s spiritual inheritance and culture and cover, among other things, subjects such as the Vedas – the oldest texts in the world, the term Rishis, the universal sound OM, Hinduism, the song Bhagavadgita, god figures with, for example, an animal’s head and a human body and the language Sanskrit where it is the sound of the words which is important. If you feel a need to find the original context of things and place the concepts in some kind of coherent framework, then it would be a good idea to read the book from the beginning.

If, instead, your primary interest is to gain an insight into my experiences, you can go directly to the chapter: India today – the land of contrasts.

You can also jump around in the book and read at random. The table of contents is very detailed, so it is easy to spot the chapters that might attract you.

If you wish to know more about the impact a guru has had on my life through 25 years, please be patient until volume 2 is published in 2020.

Preface 1994 – A life-changing journey to India in 1994

Farum, Denmark, autumn 1994

In this book some fascinating experiences are related from a journey in India which I made at the beginning of 1994. Certain things which I witnessed have turned my conceptual universe upside down. When I came home I felt that I was almost under an obligation to pass on my experiences to others who perhaps do not have the means to go there and see things with their own eyes. I think it is important for people to be aware that life holds more possibilities and other dimensions than those with which we are traditionally concerned in our culture here in Denmark and in the entire West. Therefore, it would make me very happy if, by sharing these personal experiences, I can inspire others to find new approaches to their lives and thus discover new possibilities.

My search brought me to India

Searching for happiness and the truth in life is for me the important focal point in my life. It is a lifetime journey. In 1992 I had met a course teacher in Denmark who was very inspired by an Indian Master. I wanted to experience the abilities of the Master for myself. A few months later I visited India for the first time. It was the beginning of a deep connection with this special country to which I knew I would return. Eighteen months later, in 1994, I made the new and life-changing journey to India upon which this book is based.

A specific aim of the trip was to visit various gurus. I wanted to see them with my own eyes materialise objects out of thin air and in this way find certainty that the