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Hints on Sadhana

Invite God who is all Love and Mercy to take you up and transform you into His radiant and blissful child. Permit His grace to purify, vitalise and take possession of every part of your being. Surrender your all to Him and be conscious of His presence within you and without you.

Meditation at stated times and remembrance of God at all times is necessary in the case of all Sadhakas. Conceive a thirst and hunger for God. Feel discontented for want of that hunger. A lukewarm desire does not result in much progress. Pray to God to give you that keen hunger. If you do Sadhana, you will get the hunger. Only be thorough and steady. Do not do things on and off. Do your Sadhana every day with greater and greater intensity.

While in the period of Sadhana, never bother yourself with the thought of Siddhis. Realise God first, and all else will come to you automatically. All doubts depart as Sadhana becomes regular.

The path of the spiritual aspirant is not an easy one; but one who is determined to progress along it, is sure to reach the goal.

The only way to control the mind and free it from undesirable thoughts is to put your life under strict discipline. Above all, don’t come under the insinuating influence of laziness and inactivity. There is no greater enemy that comes in the way of an aspirant’s advance on the path than laziness.

The simple rules are as follows:-

Get up in the morning not later than five o’clock. Utilise the morning hours till six o’clock in the repetition of the Divine Name and meditation of Lord’s exalted attributes.

Take only Sattwic, i.e., non-irritant food and eschew all stimulants.

Don’t read flimsy and sensational literature but be reading the lives of saints and their teachings.

Never enter into discussions on religious or any other subjects with anybody.

Be unassuming and simple in your habits of life.

Be good, kind and serviceable to all who are in need of sympathy and assistance.

Keep the Name of God always on your lips whenever you are disengaged from other works.

Conceive a love for solitude and have resort to it now and again so that you can more easily tune your thoughts with God in an undisturbed place.

Seek the society of saints.

Maintain Brahmacharya.

Don’t court the society of men who are immersed in sensual pleasures.

In other words, keep yourself perfectly pure in thought, word and deed.

A well-regulated life, having a keen sense of duty, and a patient and cheerful nature, are the characteristics of a true devotee of God.

Do not be impulsive and take steps to change the course of your present life and then give room for repentance. The goal is the awareness of your immortal existence and selfless service to humanity. You have to begin to work out this lofty object in the position in which you are at present. Of course there is struggle and difficulty. Nothing great can be achieved without a strenuous endeavour.

The easiest method for concentration is repetition of the Divine Mantram. Spend some time early morning and in the evening in the remembrance of God. Read Bhagavad Gita everyday. Lead a pure and simple life. Be kind and helpful to all who come in contact with you. Believe that the service of the suffering and the needy is the service of the Lord.

Never speak or encourage talk about yourself. Avoid all personal references. Speak always of Ram – His glories, His power and His peace.

Give up all externalities and show – even show of piety.

The Sadhaka should take very light food in the evenings. He must have only moderate sleep. He must never sleep in the afternoon or during the day. He must avoid worldly associations.

The true way is not an absolute seclusion for meditation, nor a total absorption in the activities of life in pursuit of material ends, but a combination of the two, i.e., some hours of the day set apart for meditation so that the work in which we would be engaged during the other hours may be done as a spontaneous and blissful outflow of the Eternal Reality dwelling within us.

Do not engross yourself in action, however noble and beneficent, without knowing the Eternal source of all action within you.

Question: Which is the main pitfall a spiritual aspirant should be guarded against, when he is walking on the path of God-realisation?

Answer: That is, spiritual pride due to a conceited consciousness of his progress on the path.

What often stands as an obstruction in the way of aspirant’s attaining the goal is the ego-sense (vanity) born of a consciousness of his various acts of self-discipline. He thinks that he is superior to others because of the austerities he performed. Therefore it would be well for the Sadhaka from the very inception of his Sadhana to tutor the mind from time to time, into thinking that the works of Sadhana done by him are so done by the will and power of the Lord alone.

A Sadhaka should not reveal his spiritual experiences to anybody except to his Guru or a saint. If he does not follow this rule, he will not only not receive a sympathetic hearing but also he will become so conscious of his spiritual advancement that this will prove a great impediment to his progress.

Whenever dejection overtakes the aspiring soul in his struggle, let him ward it off by surrender to the in-dwelling Spirit.

Imitation in spiritual field retards progress. Lisping in the words of great souls is not a sign of genuineness. Dive down deep within yourself and bring out the pearls of your own spiritual experience. Reveal your own light. Be the blazing Sun of Truth yourself and beautify your life and that of the world.

Imitation is dangerous. Each soul must seek his evolution on the spiritual path in his own individualistic and unique way.

To increase Bhakti, three things are necessary:-

Constant repetition of Ram Nam;

To see Ram in all objects and beings;

To undergo all difficulties in a spirit of resignation and renunciation.

Steps that lead to surrender:-

Acknowledgement of God’s will as supreme;

Realisation that God is always good and loving;

Acceptance of the fact that God has assumed the form of the Universe, of all creatures, of all beings and things in it.

There is no greater victory in the life of a human being than victory over the mind. He who has controlled the gusts of passion that arise within him and the violent actions that proceed therefrom is the real hero. All the disturbances in the physical plane are due to chaos and confusion existing in the mind. Therefore to conquer the mind through the awareness of the great Truth that pervades all existence is the key to real success and the consequent harmony and peace in the individual and in the world. Any amount of patch-work on the surface for the attainment of equilibrium and tranquility can be of no avail. The heart should be purged of its base ambitions for material wealth, fame, possession and power at the expense of others. The true soldier is he who fights not the external but the internal foes.