Thoughts Will Always Be Mine No Matter Who Writes Them
"The flame of Akhand Jyoti will never diminish or die down. Its future has been written by the divine consciousness itself. The writers may appear to grow old and pass on but the consciousness which has been working so far will continue to work without resting. The divine satta will continue working tirelessly till our goal of Yug Parivartan — the transformation of era — is reached."
— Param Poojya Gurudev Apnon se apni baat: Agale varṣa mission tīna gunā vistrat ho (Akhand Jyoti – Hindi, November 1987, p. 64)
"Thoughts will always be mine no matter who writes them" — Haridev Joshi was only partially able to understand this statement from Gurudev. He kept looking towards Gurudev's face but didn't say a word, though his face showed expressions of curiosity and wonder. Gurudev saw this dance of expressions on his face, smiled and said, "Joshiji, you are dear to me, if you have any questions then please ask me."
After getting this encouragement from Gurudev, Haridev Joshi said, "Gurudev, you know everything about me. The dirt of political career always clings to a person and affects his personality. Mind also harbours various desires and wishes; these drag life from one place to the other. Amidst all this, Akhand Jyoti becomes the beam of support for life. Through Akhand Jyoti, the sprinkle of your divine thoughts calms down the fire of disturbance, discontent and anguish in life. The mind and life get rejuvenated, positive thoughts feed the enthusiasm to take on new tasks; complications and crisis dwindle away. There will be many more like me who feel this way. I start feeling nervous on a mere thought that what will happen when you will not be around? Will the luminescence of Akhand Jyoti dwindle away or stop altogether?" Haridev Joshi's tone was balanced but the concern was evident.
Haridev Joshi was in contact with Poojya Gurudev since the days of struggle for independence. In his times of difficulty he used to take guidance through Gurudev's thoughts. He started his public career in 1952 and was elected legislator 10 times consecutively. He went on to become chief minister of Rajasthan three times and also served as governor of Assam, West Bengal & Meghalaya. Poojya Gurudev was always in his thoughts and prayers whether he was serving at a high post or not. He always made an effort to meet Gurudev whenever there was an opportunity.
Haridev Joshi was instrumental in several developmental efforts in Rajasthan. One of the key initiatives for the Banswara region was the dam construction on the Mahi River, named the Mahi Bajaj Sagar project. This dam proved to be greatly beneficial for the farmers and the local economy. The prosperity of the region is still credited to Haridev Joshi.
Apart from politics and social work, Haridev Joshi was also very active in religious activities. He was deeply interested in spirituality and Hinduism. Even with active social life, he never forgot the role of God in his life. It was this devotion that kept him connected to Poojya Gurudev. Whenever he came to meet Poojya Gurudev, it was not as a chief minister or a governor but as a devout karyakartā (worker). He was deeply interested in attaining and spreading spiritual thoughts of Gurudev.
On that day, it was this deep concern and faith that led him to ask the question to Gurudev about the future of Akhand Jyoti after Gurudev. Poojyavar understood his dilemma and said, "Joshiji, there will be no change in Akhand Jyoti, whether I am alive or not. You may wonder how it will happen. Think about it, man is like a radio. It will be a mistake to imagine that all the songs, news etc. are originating from the radio. In reality, it is just catching the signals from various radio stations and converting the radio frequencies to sound. Human beings also come in contact with various frequencies, then think and act in the way frequencies guide them to. Though we can tune the radio to a different frequency, we are generally not able to tune ourselves to a different frequency. This is where our thought process falters. A man keeps going up and down as his habits, upbringing and his nature tell him to. If we want to catch the frequency of good thoughts all the time, then we will need to overcome our nature and habits and increase the positivity in our life."
This was all very new for Haridev Joshi to hear. He had never heard anybody else say these words. But he knew that Gurudev was a rishi and doubting his words never occurred in Haridev Joshi's mind. He still asked Gurudev, "So don't we think anything ourselves? Don't we have our own thoughts?" Gurudev said, "Truth is that we accept thoughts as our nature, upbringing and character allow us to, and then we express and exhibit those thoughts. As far as Akhand Jyoti is concerned, I am going to find individuals who have impeccable character and thought process. These individuals will be connected to me through mental and spiritual consciousness and will express my thought process in their own words. This will be attained by developing and practicing spiritual consciousness and meditation. I will prepare these individuals myself and then they will become a medium to connect to many more spiritually enlightened individuals. These enlightened individuals will become my torch bearers who will continue to spread light in the world through the power of Akhand Jyoti. There should never be any doubt whether Akhand Jyoti's guruvānī (Gurudev's divine message) will continue to enlighten and guide the masses or not. It will continue guiding individual/family/society towards the right path many more years to come."
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." — Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see." — Arthur Schopenhauer