By SHRI RAM SHAW
New Delhi / Nagpur: Saroj Mrinal Brijwasi, popularly known as “Didi” among millions of her followers, hails from the holy land of Vrindavan. She left the honourable job of teaching as a professor at the peak of her lucrative career to tread on the religious path and become a preacher. Blessed with a matured head over her responsible shoulders, she is a woman of substance and a true crusader with a holy mission of cow protection. Her goal is to spread the ‘holy message’ of cow protection all over the world.
During a devotional song competition (Bhajan Spardha) at Nagpur-based Kalyaneshwar Mandir on Sunday, Saroj Mrinal addressed the august gathering. Devotees from all walks of life thronged the premises in a large number. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari also graced the occasion as the chief guest. On the sidelines of the event, this journalist (Shri Ram Shaw) caught up with Saroj Mrinal over phone from Nagpur and she spoke at length on a varied range of issues pertaining to Sanatana Sanskriti.
She said, “We all know from the Hindu scriptures that there are divine personalities and demonic personalities. Demonic personalities want to destroy the humanity and the planet, and every person’s duty is to fight against it. We must make every effort to restore Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion of the soul, and spread this knowledge throughout the world. And, the first step that has to be taken for it is to stop the killing of Gau-mata. Material reality is illusory. We must perform Seva, the service. And, the more heroic our service is, the more clearly we will be able to feel boundless mercy and blessings. In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: “On this path no effort is wasted, nor is there any danger of adverse effects.”
Saroj further said, “The Mother cow has a feminine nature. The cow’s love is so strong that even if she lives with butchers, knowing that she will soon be given to the slaughterhouse, she still loves her owners with a transcendental love. The mother cow has such a strong, transcendent love that we cannot fully realize it. The Srimad-Bhagavatam lists seven mothers: our own mother, the wife of our teacher or spiritual master, the wife of a Brahmana, the wife of the king, the nurse, the cow, and the earth. We are indebted to all seven of these mothers, and also to our father, brothers, friends, relatives, and forefathers. Cow protection means not only protecting cows from slaughter, but providing them a happy life far away from manipulation and abuse. That’s why I invite everyone to join the worldwide cow rescue and protection movement.”
“Ego is a vice and a mental illness. A man stuck in the mire of ego is always dissatisfied, restless and stressed, as a result of which he is afflicted with physical and mental ailments. A man nurtured under this veil of ego is always deprived of adopting good qualities, due to which he is unable to progress towards moral and spiritual development. An egoistic person always considers others to be inferior to him in every field, which also affects his social life. The world of such a person begins with ‘himself’ and ends with ‘himself’. This veil of ego leads a man towards despair and negativity. Influenced by this false veil of ego, he himself closes the path of new knowledge, progress and creativity,” she added.
Saroj said, “Confused in the rapid flow of ego, man forgets that his existence in this unlimited and infinite universe is like zero. This veil of ego also destroys the discretion power of man, due to which man attains degradation.”
“We have to make herculean efforts to bring our dreams to reality. Only then can we conquer the empire of dreams. A person without dreams cannot move ahead in life. One has to be a visionary to achieve goals. Big dreams act as a catalyst to achieve big goals. When dreams are fulfilled, sources of unparalleled joy start bursting forth. Our efforts start getting fulfilled. The sweat particles of our labour start shining like pearls. There is a benefit in dreaming, only when we start fulfilling them with determination and dedication. A student dreams of coming first in his class, a farmer dreams of having a good harvest. Every person dreams of something good at every stage of life. If he gets involved with full dedication to make these dreams a reality, then he achieves the highest peak of success. A person who is handicapped due to any incident or birth also starts dreaming of being successful in life. He chooses a field of work for himself. Then fighting every challenge, he reaches the peak of success. His persistence makes him an expert in his field of work. If he did not dream of being successful and did not ride the chariot of hard work to fulfill it, then he would hardly have been able to succeed. We should constantly move on the path of hard work to fulfill our dreams in life!” Saroj Mrinal concluded.