Hurdles in Sadhana

Many persons aspire for spiritual progress but do not achieve the desired progress because of their halfhearted, lop-sided process of Sadhana. The goal of Sadhana is to violently shake man out of his body-conscious state of slumber, so that he becomes fully awakened to the reality of his true identity as an Immortal Soul. The holistic therapy for any disease involves treatment of the root cause of the malady. Mere palliatives do not serve the purpose. The same principle holds true in case of spiritual Sadhana. No doubt, the conventional rituals of Sadhana like continence, philanthropy, fasting, Jap, anusthan, yajna, etc. are beneficial as initial steps. Nevertheless, they do not constitute the totality of Sadhana. These rituals do enhance purity of mind, positive traits and nobility, but these alone do not lead to Enlightenment, which reveals the illusory and transient nature of the phenomenal world and our free identity as immortal souls - sparks of the Divine. The purpose of this passage is to help and guide a spiritual seeker to awaken to the presence of his indwelling Divinity. A person of awakened awareness of the spirit effortlessly lives a life of nobility, righteousness and loving kindness.

Once this paradigm shift of consciousness is accomplished, the confines of "I" and "MINE" expand infinitely to encompass the whole of the universe. Such a realized soul feel that he has far greater responsibilities to shoulder than mere caring for his narrow physical-self and related persons and things. As one climb higher and higher on this spiritual ascent, one's sense of belonging expands accordingly and finally, looking around as far as one can from the top of a hill, one discovers that he is none with all existence. Earlier, a person had to take care, perhaps, of his children, siblings, a few relatives, a few employees, some possessions, etc., but now these thousands upon thousands of things and people around appear needing his personal care. In other words, as one's field of vision widens on climbing a hill, so does the perspective of self on self-realization. The tiny egocentric, body-confined sense of I-ness vanishes for good.

Let us try to understand this concept through an analogy. Let us consider the air in a balloon as the limited-self. Blowing air in this balloon expands it and it occupies more and more space, till it bursts. The air in the balloon becomes part of the vast expanse of air surrounding the earth. In the same manner, progressive expansion of self identity ultimately leads to the realization that it was inseparably connected with all creation. It was the body-consciousness (the balloon), which was creating the illusion of an isolated, independent existence of one's own. In a nutshell, this is the vision of Self-realization. This is the basic tenet of the super-science of spirituality, which constitutes the core of the various religious faiths and mystic paths all over the world. In nutshell, this is the core of all disciplines of spiritual practices, irrespective of the people, places, or variety of worship.

Once having a glimpse of the true self, the seeker can never return to the confines of the old narrow perspective of self. In common human life in each moment, there is a lurking worry and fear of a possible disaster. Man is in desperate search of a perennial source of happiness, but he is seeking it outside of himself - in possessions, pelf, power and relations. When one dying of thirst in a desert finds an oasis of cool water, would one ever think of returning to the wasteland of scorching sand? ""Yadgatva Ba Buyartate Taddgan Oarnan Nan" proclaims the Divine Teacher in Bhagwadgita. It means, "Having experienced the bliss of Self-Realization who would like to come back for suffering mundane worldly woes?" Having reached the destination, the question of losing direction does not arise. Does one forget the way back to home after homecoming?

Vices like lust, anger, greed, infatuation and cravings for sensory pleasure keep man always entangled in the cobweb of misery. On account of the ever-changing nature of material world, one can never have lasting peace and happiness on this plane. Throughout life man keeps on lamenting for loss, craving for more and more of what he considers pleasant and getting frustrated on denial of his wishes. The attachment to the pleasant and repulsion the unpleasant are two root causes of retrogression, which drag the being to births in sub-human species of animal kingdom. (Laws of science of spirituality state that in course of its progressive evolution, the soul of a being inhabits bodies of successively higher more evolved species of biological kingdom and birth as a human being is the culmination of this evolution. It is further stated that indulgence in aforementioned animal traits sets the clock of progressive evolution backwards). The methods prescribed in spiritual practices in various faiths are meant to rise above the pull of these beastly tendencies. In the Bhagwadgita, human mind is personified as Arjun. In the battle of Mahabharata, which symbolizes the perpetual inner battle between the good and the evil within our own selves, he is exhorted by God-incarnate, Sri Krishna, to fight against the annihilate his own intimate relatives (evil traits) personified as the Kauravas. We will discuss latter that simple exercise for elevating the level of consciousness of man to a super-conscious state where he becomes totally free from degrading traits of worldly life. Self-Realization endows the seeker with celestial virtues of divinity. As mentioned earlier, progressive expansion of the ego-consciousness and the individual being attains at-one-ment with the omnipresent Supreme Being. Some scepters may interpret this path of soul-growth as the way of the recluse or the ascetic, who wants "Nirvana" (deliverance) or who desires to be detached from worldly life for altruistic pursuits. One may argue that this Sadhana is only for those who are interested in the benefits of life beyond death, whereas all efforts of a common man are focused on the pleasures of this world only; that most of the time of man in his daily routine is taken up by such things as business, job, education, entertainment, etc. and he has little or no inclination or time to think of and provide for life beyond death.

It is natural to have such doubts since in today's world, the confused mindset of man rreats well-being of self in this world and in the worlds beyond death as two different pursuits, whereas factually these cannot be compartmentalized. What pertains to this world is also covertly related to the other. These are inseparable like two sides of the same coin. The subject matter of this writing does not permit dealing in detail with this misconception. Suffice it to say that the cultivation of Self-Awareness is the most efficacious method of success in practical life of this world as well. All progress in this world goes hand in hand with the progressive evolution of human consciousness. One, who is endowed with the inner-strength of soul, has the capacity to succeed in all avenues of life.

The simple and natural method of communion with God is in knowing one's true immortal self, appreciating dignity of human life, finding out the specific role of human species in the creation of God, and thereafter starts functioning without any ego-centered motive as the Manager of His estate; whatever part of it has been entrusted to your care. There can be no more Soul-Satisfying art of living than this.

There should be no ambiguity in understanding this plain truth that there are two root causes of success or failure in any human endeavor: One - a correct appraisal of one's capabilities and shortcomings; and two- knowledge about availability of means and resources required to complete the assignment. In spite of being endowed with the best of intellect, one cannot arrive at the right decision in the absence of hard facts about these variables.

Spiritual masters say: Remember! The soul in you is indestructible. You are not a non-entity, but a magnificent creation of God.  Do not feel weak in any respect. Nor beg for anything. You are immensely powerful. There is no limitation to what you can do. The potentials with which you have appeared in this world can undoubtedly overcome all obstacles in your way to success. Your capabilities are more powerful than the obstructions to be overcome. Success and happiness are your birthrights. Wake up! Identify your true self; assess your means and resources and wisely go ahead towards the set goal. You will find that there is nothing that you aspire for is beyond your reach. You are the "Kalpavriksha" and "Kamdhenu" (heavenly tree and cow) of heaven, which grant all wishes. You are success personified. Come forward and take charge of what is your due.

In my view you are not merely a body, nor like any other less evolved species on earth, but are a manifestation of attributes of God. Body and mind are your tools. You are not a slave of your sensory organs. Animal-like habits cannot enslave you. The pollutants of thoughts cannot withstand your inner strength. In essence, a human being is an embodied soul, with the body as an instrument. Understand this distinction clearly and unambiguously. When man regards the "self" as his body, the soul cannot use the body effectively. The distinction enables the soul to make use of the body as an instrument of Self-Growth. This is the task before man. Any task can be successfully accomplished if there is clarity of vision and purpose. This is the Yoga of perfect skill in works (Yogaha Karmasu Kaushalam -Gita). Diligently aspire to be such a Yogi.

The purpose of this writing is to motivate you to make your due contributions to the real well-being of this world and the world beyond, leading you to the supreme goal of Self-Realization. --- May God enlighten your path