THE GOAL AND THE PATH
We do not properly understand what effect our activities
in the world produce upon the atmosphere of the Godly
region. When joined with the inner feelings of the heart
our activities create impressions in the cosmos, and
they affect the human mind. They grow more and more
powerful by the action of the cosmic energy; and the
hearts of the people, when hit by them, take in their
effect and begin to produce thoughts and more thoughts.
In this way we have been spoiling the cosmos ever since
our birth. That is the reason why we are never without a
thought even for a moment. But those who rise above the
cosmos can no doubt become almost thoughtless. When a
man goes on with his usual work, of whatever nature it
might be, in the sense of duty having no weight or
impression of it upon his heart, he spoils neither
himself nor the cosmos. That is why Lord Krishna has
insisted so much upon the recognition of the true sense
of duty. We have thus been spoiling the cosmos ever
since, while Nature, the supreme force, is ever engaged
in clearing off all these things. At times when it
gathers heavily, a special personality is brought down
to do the work. An atmosphere of bhoga is created all
through, which causes suffering and affliction over
humanity. Special means are also adopted for the purpose
in the form of wars, diseases and heavenly calamities. A
great power of that type is already at work today to
accomplish the task which is similar to that which Lord
Krishna came down for.
People often say that they are too busy with their
private affairs to spare any time for puja and upasana,
but that the busiest man has the greatest leisure is a
common saying. To my mind a man has more time at his
disposal than he has work for. Service and sacrifice are
the two instruments to build up the temple of
spirituality. Love is of course the foundation. Any kind
of service done selflessly is helpful. Service carries
with it a sense of worship, and we should be as busy
with it as we are with our daily routine of life. The
easiest method for it would be to think every thing one
has to do as the order of God, and treat it as one's
duty. We must remember that every thing we have in this
world has come down to us from God. Our fellow beings
are also His creation. He is the Master of every thing
and we are all His children, no matter if a few of them
are specially entrusted to our charge. In this way we
shall be relieved of the feelings of undue attachment.
If this feeling becomes deep-rooted, one will be serving
them with a sense of duty and at the same time be
remembering the Great Master as well. This will finally
develop into the habit of constant remembrance.
The goal of life can easily be achieved, if we are
sincerely devoted to it having in mind the idea of the
Great Master all through. By devotion we establish a
link between us and the Master which serves as a path
for us to march on. All that we have to do is to keep it
clear and free from thorns and shrubs which might be
impediments in our way. Earnestness of purpose and the
intensity of devotion help to keep the path clear. When
the path is clear, the heart pushes one forward on it.
The impediments comprise chiefly of the conflicting
ideas which keep on haunting the mind. A temporary lull
created by the effect of meditation means a step
onwards. As one proceeds on with it one will experience
that the conflicting ideas begin to disappear. When that
attains a state of permanency, the thought of closeness
with God gets into prominence.
Numerous ways are prescribed for securing Realisation,
each one suited to a particular taste or mentality of
the individual. A man of the lowest standard, who cannot
give his mind up to meditation, may however, on account
of his inner grossness, take the solid things to start
with and begin worshipping images with the bhava of
Almighty of course. But, unfortunately, they usually
take the image itself as God, omitting altogether the
idea of any higher being. A little advanced amongst them
are generally considered to be those who keep in view
the imaginary form similar to one they have fixed their
mind upon, and who go on with the usual routine of
mechanical worship of offering flowers, sandal, and
incense to them in their imagination. This they call as
manasic puja and consider it to be an advanced stage. As
a matter of fact they are no better than those of the
former type. The result in both the cases would be
exactly the same, and finally they would become solid
like rock.
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BOUNDEN DUTY
To realize our goal of life is our Bounden Duty.
Therefore, one should aspire for the highest, peace and
other things should be secondary.
**
GOAL OF LIFE
Now about the goal of human life. Anything short of
liberation cannot be taken as the goal of life although
there remains still a lot beyond it. We find but a few
persons who have even liberation as their final goal of
life, which represents the lowest rung in the spiritual
flight. The problem of life remains totally unsolved if
we are below this level. The goal of life means nothing
but the point we have finally to arrive at. It is, in
other words, the reminiscence of our homeland or the
primeval state of our present solid state of existence,
to which we have finally to return. It is only the idea
of destination which we keep alive in our minds and for
that we practise Devotion only as duty. The highest
possible point of human approach is much beyond the
sphere of mahamaya, wherefrom avatars like Rama and
Krishna have descended; hence, a good deal above that
level. It may be surprising to most of the readers but
it is a fact beyond doubt. The final point of approach
is where every kind of force, power, activity or even
stimulus disappears and a man enters a state of complete
negation, nothingness or zero. Such is the extent of
human achievement which a man should fix his eyes upon
from the very beginning, if he wants to make the
greatest progress on the path of realization.
**
DESTINATION
The point we start from is the very point which
corresponds closely with the destination.
YEARNING – FINAL GOAL
The natural yearning of soul is to be free from bondage.
If there is one who does not like to free himself from
the entanglements, there is no solution for him.
My humble request to you is that you should try to
re-own the latent power which is the very quintessence
of the final goal, by breaking up the network,
interwoven by yourself. Taking up the ideal of the
simplicity of nature, which is before everybody's view,
you should set to work for the attainment of the goal in
a way that all senses having merged in, one may become
synonymous with that which remains after the fading away
of the previous impressions. Then alone can you think
yourself as diverted towards Him in the true sense.
It has been observed that those on the path of
spirituality who did not fix that final state for their
goal have definitely remained short of the mark because
before arriving at the final point they mistook one or
the other of the intermediary states to be the final
point or reality and stopped there forever.
WAYS AND MEANS
THE MEANS
There are numerous means and practices prescribed for
Realisation, out of which we have to choose that which
guarantees speedy success. Now what that may be let each
person judge for himself. For a hint I quote below the
judicious opinion of Swami Vivekananda on this point.
“It is Raja Yoga alone that successfully leads a man up
to the highest level of approach, and none but one
having the capacity to apply his own internal powers
through Pranahuti is fit for being a guide or master.” I
may also assure you that Hatha Yoga has no access beyond
ajna chakra. Besides, there is another serious defect in
it. When we start with the bodily exercises of Hatha
Yoga, the consciousness of our physical efforts with the
idea of self in the background also remains all through.
Thus the ego instead of reducing goes on increasing
thereby. But that is not the case with Raja Yoga where
one proceeds with subtlest means for silencing the
ever-active tendencies of the mind. Besides, in
practicing this one is always away from the idea of the
body since he has fixed his attention upon the subtlest.
Grihastha ashrama is not a bar in gaining the Real. I
think this is the best ashrama in which higher approach
is easily possible. I am a grihastha and my master was
also one. I assure you that a perfect saint may be found
in this ashrama alone. We perform our duties and
remember Him as the Ultimate Reality. Duty is itself
worship if the idea that it is the order of God remains
in the mind.
The method of meditation on the heart is to think of the
Godly light within it. When you begin meditation in this
way please think once only that Godly light within is
attracting you. Do not mind if extraneous ideas intrude
during meditation. Let them come, but you go on with
your own work. Sit in an easy posture for one hour in
the morning in quite a natural way. If you require the
philosophy of this method I shall reveal it to you after
sometime. You should only meditate. You should not
struggle with the ideas and thoughts which generally
come in during meditation. Concentration is the result
of meditation. Those who want concentration for the sake
of meditation and force their mind to it generally meet
with failure. It must be remembered that while
practicing these methods one should not force his mind
too much, but only sit in a normal way. Sit in an easy
posture for one hour in the morning in quite a natural
way. It is better to sit in the grey of the morning for
meditation or, if that is not possible, then at any
fixed hour convenient to you, the abhyasi. Do not feel
disturbed by the outer things but remain engaged with
your work, thinking that they are in a way helping you
to feel the necessity of greater absorption in your
practice.
In the evening sit again in the same easy posture for
half an hour and think that the complexities, the
net-work of your previous thoughts and grossness or
solidity in your body, are all melting away or
evaporating in the form of smoke from your back side. It
will help you in purging your mind and make you
receptive of the efficacious influence of our great
master. As soon as I find that you are free from
undesirable matter I will take appropriate action. We
soar high by awakening and cleaning the chakras and the
sub-points thereof, taking up kundalini also in the end,
with which the abhyasi has nothing to do by himself. It
is exclusively the outlook of the master.
To impart spirituality really takes no time for a guide
of high calibre like my master. The time is mostly spent
in effecting the making of the abhyasi. We should
proceed with our abhyas with faith and devotion, and the
thing desired will come to us by itself.
I have often met the heads of various sansthas, and to
my greatest surprise and sorrow I have found not only
transmission sadly missing everywhere but also that to
most of them it was quite a stranger. Swami Vivekananda
had that capacity but such personalities are always
rare. Personalities like my revered master are not
accidentally born. They come down only when the world
waits for them in eager expectation. Such higher
personalities or incarnations come down in material form
to remodel the ways and methods of upasana in accordance
with the need of the time. So was the case with Lord
Krishna, who was a great master of his time. My revered
master too has modified the system, adjusting it to the
needs of the present time. His most wonderful invention
in the spiritual field is the one related with the
abhyasi’s approach to the Central Region, as stated in
the Efficacy of Raj Yoga. I am following in the
footsteps of my great master. Often people ask me to
infuse into them the Godly force or energy up to the
highest degree all at once. To be frank I am always
eager to do so, but to my regret I seldom find the
necessary capacity in the abhyasi. The delay caused is
only on account of that deficiency, and for that I
cannot be blamed as a miser by any means. All that I
possess is for all humanity. I am bound by the sacred
pledge given to my master as guru-dakshina, to spread
spirituality far and wide without any reserve or
distinction. I am doing it now and will go on with it
all my life. You must not, however, be disappointed. If
you have really entrusted your case to me I promise my
full support for your perfection provided you too do the
needful.
As to how the mind should be kept engaged, I may relate
to you what I did during my period of abhyas. My master
was everything to me as He is today. I meditated upon
his form within my heart and outside as well. But I do
not recommend this to you for you have not seen him. The
benefit I derived from this process is beyond words to
describe. Some people may have objection to it though
the 37th Sutra of Patanjali's ‘Yoga Darshana' fully
supports it. (Vitaragavishayam va chittam I.37) I am not
at all in favour of meditation on the pictures of
saints. Constant remembrance of God is, of course, a
special feature in spirituality. The same I recommend to
you to try, besides your usual practice. The method for
cultivating constant remembrance is to think with firm
conviction during your leisure hours, in office or at
home, in the street or in the market, that God is
pervading all over and everywhere and you are thinking
of Him. Try to remain in the same thought as long as you
can.
I am glad that you are eager to reach the stage of
vairagya you will attain it without doubt, but only when
you are sufficiently cleaned; and it depends upon you as
well, for which you are advised the evening practice. I
feel you are improving spiritually, for which I give you
a hint to understand. You must be feeling lightness,
though only a little, which is a sign that complexities
are melting away gradually and the spiritual force is
flowing into you. Try to feel it and inform me
accordingly. If you do not get time for meditation
during the day then do it when you go to bed, or after
midnight (after a short sleep) when everything around is
calm and quiet. In that case proceed first with the
cleaning process fixed for the evening. Do it for about
fifteen minutes and after it devote an hour or so to
meditation as directed.
We should not weaken ourselves by thinking of past
karmas. We should always try to attempt the highest in
order to make the future bright. It is very difficult to
have all favourable circumstances in this worldly life.
What we are to do is to adjust ourselves to the
conditions as best as we can, and to utilise them to our
greatest advantage. Constant remembrance will greatly
help you in such cases also. The domestic problem is
acute everywhere, but we have to put up with it somehow.
One thing more by way of practice is to offer daily the
following brief prayer at bed time, in the most
suppliant mood and with a heart overflowing with Love
for the Divine.
“O Master!
Though art the real goal of human life
We are yet but slaves of wishes putting bar
to our advancement.
Thou art the only God and Power
to bring us up to that stage.”
Repeat the above in your mind once or twice and meditate
over it for a few minutes.
The prayer must be offered in such a way as if some most
miserable man is laying down his miseries with a deeply
afflicted heart before the Supreme Master, imploring His
mercy and grace with tearful eyes. Then alone can he
become a deserving aspirant of spirituality.
Whatever comes into action is always in accordance with
the will of God who is the actual doer. The difficulty
arises when we link it with our own will or action,
thinking it to be the result of our efforts. We rejoice
at success and feel aggrieved at failure merely for that
reason. This is the only thing which serves to keep us
in bondage. The absence of this egoistic feeling means
the advent of real potent vigour. How can this be
achieved? Only by linking the self with the great power
of the Divine. Doing so, we go on covering stage after
stage and we get closer and closer to Him. It is a pity
to find only a few persons trying to link themselves
with the Supreme, not to speak of achieving complete
negation. For that the only path is that of surrender,
though it is a pretty hard task especially for those who
are overloaded with their own weight.
Discipline is the elementary step of surrender. If it is
not possible to adhere to mental discipline in the
beginning, one can take up at least the physical
discipline to start with. After that if the teacher's
capability is well-established upon the mind, and the
pupil too is a sincere seeker of Reality, mental
submission will begin to develop by itself. When he has
set his foot on the lowest rung of the ladder the next
one will be in his sight by itself. When the pursuit is
taken up thus, love and devotion will begin to develop
automatically, especially when one is convinced of the
merits of the teacher. I am not sure whether all those
associated with me have craving for realisation or not.
If they have, these things must have developed in them
automatically. There must be in their heart an interest
for that, and the interest develops only when one feels
firmly attached to the goal. Some may however sit by me
only to have their mind at rest for a while. Even this
may be worthwhile to me to some extent, for I may
thereby be offering them some comfort for a while at
least. But that alone is not enough. There may also be
some who like to associate with me on the basis of
fellow-feeling and friendship, not of course taking into
account anything of spirituality. This also may not be
too little for me, because I greatly rejoice and feel
refreshed when I find anyone bearing in his heart love
for me. But why after all should anyone bother about it
for my sake when there is a lot for him in the world to
love and like? He alone who is himself lost, or at least
likes to be lost, or is even willing to lose all, may
perhaps be inclined towards me. My tendency of mind is
somewhat peculiar. Having lost myself in toto, I now
like others to trace me out. I believe a wise man will
never come up for it. That may be the reason why I fail
to excite emotion in the heart of others because in me
that too is lost like my own being. When that is the
case, what else then remains in me for a clue to help
them to trace me out? The idea will be more clear if one
develops a similar type of Divine intoxication.
DOUBTS
I do not know whether your Maulvi Saheb has given me
room in the cabin of his heart or not. If he has, the
question then arises whether he has kept me free or in
bonds. If I am free then alone can I be of some use to
him. The meaning implied therein is whether he has made
me his own, allowing me my rights, or depriving me of
them. If he kept my rights reserved I may then prove
helpful to him. As for the other friend, I wish him
speedy progress. But the fact is that he wants to build
his temple of spirituality on the sandy foundation of
doubt which is the quintessence of philosophy. My view
is that philosophy must start from ‘wonder'. Under our
system of sadhana, there comes a stage at which the
feeling of wonder gets created in the abhyasi. I had
remained in that condition for a number of years. With
the introduction of this stage spirituality takes an
entirely new turn.
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