The book is a spiritual and mystical travelogue that chronicles Shriram Sharma Acharya's advent into the Himalayas for a year long Tap Sadhna (penance)in 1960-1961. The below mentioned excerpt from the book explains the meaning of the term Tap Sadhna.
Quoted Text:
The power of Tap (penance) is immense. Tap means heat. So penance means heating up the self for purification.
The greatest of all the powerful elements in this world have their roots in Tap or heat. The Sun heats itself up. Thus it is the Lord of the solar system, providing life- energy to all beings. The heating up of the atmosphere in the hot summer results in benevolent rains that provide relief, happiness and prosperity. When gold is heated it becomes pure and bright, enhancing its value.
All the metals coming out of the mines in the form of ores are an impure mixture of dirt, dust and stones. But when melted by heat, the pure metal separates itself from dross and becomes valuable. The unbaked pots, utensils and toys made of unbaked clay get broken even when slightly hit. But when baked in kiln they become red and strong; and earthen bricks baked in kilns become strong like stones. The soft limestone’s become cement when processed by heat and the structures prepared with it last for long durations.
The ordinary mica, when heated a hundred times in fire, becomes Chandroday Ras, an invaluable Ayurvedic medicine. Only when purified on fire several times the metals become valuable Bhasma, Rasayan etc that provide cure and healing for serious diseases. Ordinary grains, pulses and vegetable in their raw states are tasteless, uneatable and indigestible. But when cooked on fire they become tasty and easily digestible. The soiled dirty clothes, when heated in the washer man’s boiler are washed clean and spotless. The foods we take in are digested by the fire in the stomach (in the form of pancreatic secretions) and help produce blood, bones, and marrow that build up and sustain our bodies. If the purification in fire or the process of heating is stopped, all the processes of nature will come to halt.
All the functions of creation are going on only because of heating up of nature. The latent potential in the creations manifests itself in various forms of Tap like energy, valour, courage, enthusiasm, knowledge, science and so on. A mother nourishes the embryo in the uterus by her body heat and gives birth to the baby. Whosoever endeavored to rise above the humdrum, lazy, indolent state had to take up Tap.
All the brave men and women who have left their imprint on the pages of history have had to undergo Tap in their own way. Similarly the chosen few from amongst the farmers, students, laborers, scientists, administrators, scholars, industrialists, and artisans who have made some great contribution in their respective fields could do so because of their extraordinary hard work, perseverance, devotion and Tap. Had they remained dull, lazy and inactive and indulged in ease, comfort, lavishness and merriment, they could never have reached the heights they attained by the tireless toil and perseverance.
Of all the energies, spiritual energy is the purest and greatest. It also implies that the wealth of spiritual enlightenment is superior to all worldly wealth. Even with ordinary powers of wealth, wisdom and might, people have achieved enormous progress and happiness, but the achievements of those who have gained spiritual enlightenment are many times greater. The difference between the worldly wealth and spiritual wealth is the same as between brass and gold or between glass and a gem. There are a lot of people who are rich, virtuous, powerful rulers, scholars and artists, but they cannot be compared to the great souls who not only elevated themselves but also contributed immensely for the betterment of the world through their spiritual attainments. In ancient times, those who wanted their children to be endowed with virtuous qualities like hard work, perseverance, patience, peace, truthfulness, compassion, and wisdom used to send them to the Gurukuls, (seats of learning under the guidance of Gurus) so that they could be well groomed to inculcate such virtues and be able to face the hardships, hard realities and challenges of life unflinchingly, confidently and boldly.
Whenever and wherever any great thing has been accomplished in this world, there was inevitably the power of penance behind it. If we go through the past history of Bharat i.e. India, it will become evident that the multifaceted progress of this land has been based on penance and its adoption. The land of Bharat was called Paradise on Earth. The nation was on the forefront of humanity in terms of its wealth, knowledge and the valour of its people. The credit of attaining this peak of progress is attributed to the unshakable adherence to noble- aimed penance of its people in the olden days. The lazy, selfish, amorous, pompous and greedy people have always been looked down with contempt and considered inferior by the basic Indian culture.
The greatness of the power of Tap was truly understood and imbibed through the golden ages of our history making the ancient Indians the torch bearers of spiritual, ethical and moral values of humanity and also rich in worldly prosperity. Manu, the ancient Indian sage who framed the ancient ethical and moral code of conduct for human society was able to accomplish this great assignment only after performing penance along with his wife Shatroopa.
Leafing through the pages of the history of India one comes across numerous such instances where ordinary human beings have astounded the world by their amazing deeds of benevolence to humanity besides self-upliftment, by the power of their Tap. Even in the present era, the works done by enlightened souls like Mahatma Gandhi, Sant Vinoba, Rishi Dayanand, Meera, Kabir, Dadu, Tulsidas, Soordas, Sri Aurobindo, Maharishi Raman, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, and many others have been of revolutionary dimensions.
The work which the politicians and scientists are engaged in at present is only fanning the fires of mutual hatred and distrust and might lead to mass-scale annihilation of humanity by weapons of mass destruction. Forceful and effective voices advocating peace, harmony, love and brother-sister-hood of all humanity are rare- and are almost inaudible in the din of violence, strife, hatred based on race, religion, region, culture, etc. Such noble virtues surcharged with transforming energy cannot be designed and developed in the seats of political power or in the laboratories of scientists. Even in ancient times, when such a need arose, the weapons of peace were forged in the laboratories of hermitages by resorting to Tap Sadhna. In the present times too, many great souls are engaged in this work.
Many efforts are being made to make human life and the world a heavenly abode for all sentient beings. Many industries, businesses, factories, means of transport, dams, schools, hospitals etc., are being built. It is expected that these efforts will help solve the problems of poverty, disease and illiteracy to some extent. But unless the virtues of love, brotherhood, compassion, generosity, faith in divinity, restraint, and service are operative in human consciousness, no effort in the direction of universal peace will succeed. So long as highly evolved and noble minded souls like Gandhi, Dayanand, Buddha, Mahavir, Narad, and Vyas do not appear on the scene to inspire and provide guidance, it is impossible to elevate the mass mind to a higher consciousness. Until the public thinking is not refined and elevated, until pure idealistic feelings are not generated, the raw urges of hatred, enemity, grabbing, adultery, laxity, and sinful deeds cannot be flushed out from public behavior. Till then there will be no respite from the suffering of pain, strife, disease and poverty.
It is necessary to charge the atmosphere with the subtle spiritual current of transforming energy so that moral forces could develop, sublimating the human character at its base. This can be achieved only through Tap Sadhna of a special nature performed by highly elevated souls. This is the greatest service to humanity, religion and culture. Today its need is urgently felt, for with the passing of time, evil forces will overwhelm us and lead us to colossal disaster.
This call of the Time Spirit has compelled me to take the present step. It has become necessary for me to perform intense concentrated Tap for one year by staying in the area in the Himalayas where the Rishis perform their Tap. This Sadhna is not intended for personal benefits. I have never longed for heaven or salvation and will never do so either. I have pledged umpteen times to work for the upliftment of human dignity, so then how come the question of escapism? Universal welfare is my welfare. It is with this aim that I have taken this step to melt myself in the intense heat of Tap.
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/59987539/Colleagues-in-Solitude-by-Pandit-Shriram-Sharma-Acharya
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