1. We are all happily aware these days of Basanth are the ones when the divine grace flows torrentially from the Centre. We have been and continue to be in an Ocean of Bliss since the start of this celebration. In fact ever since the Master has deigned to enter into our hearts and make it his temple we were living in the ocean of bliss consciously sometimes and some other times otherwise. We all entered into His fold by making a conscious decision before we started the spiritual journey. The world is in the throes of a new era. Materialism is slowly yielding to the paths of spiritual living. Though some may consider this a tall claim it is true and for a spiritual person the signs of awakening are clearly visible.
2. Spiritual awakening is becoming an increasingly common occurrence among “normal” everyday people. Once considered to be the privilege of sages and saints, many are now seeking, and finding, the goal of their lives. More and more are yearning to live an enlightened life. There are many amongst us who live J in the higher planes of consciousness all the time praying to lift humanity from its rather beastly life. They may not be all that visible with long beards, torn clothes or silken ochre robes. But surely they are here and persons who can feel the vibrations around can convince themselves of it. But I believe that there is more to the spiritual journey than just awakening.
3. Along the way to that ultimate goal, we have the chance, and the choice, to evolve both our souls and our human selves. Indeed, we must grow in addition to awakening if we want to know true wholeness and gain a holistic perspective of our existence. This is an integral approach to awakening that does not. deny the inventiveness of our human minds, the desires of our human hearts, and the expression of our individual souls. Awakening and enlightenment should naturally lead us to live a life of equanimity, cooperation and co existence. Exploitation of other beings on earth based on distinctions which are totally ill conceived shall end and we should feel the Beloved all through. Master sings that" all sing Ram Ram but I sing O Beloved Beloved.”
4. It has been our sincere most desire to follow the path of the Master and evolve cracking the sheaths of egoism and opening up the realms of identity and finally reach the root of all existence. The call of the Master is too great and we all girded up our loins and like mighty courageous lions are following the regal footsteps of the Master. Though our base stations appear to be different by undertaking sadhana in the true spirit we can and we do become more conscious of the journey to Infinity we have entered upon.
5. The call of the Master when he asked us to follow the ninth commandment namely ‘mould your living so as to rouse a feeling of love and piety in others’ when sincerely followed makes us feel that we need not wait for awakening to happen to transform us. In reality when we choose any thought, feeling, belief, habit, or deed that is just a little more noble, a little higher than the one we had before, we increase our consciousness just that much. An increased consciousness moves us that much further along the path. Ultimately, the spiritual journey is the journey of shifting from a life that is quite unconscious to a life lived in full consciousness. It is all about living more fully, more purposefully, and more joyfully along the way to awakening. This is the journey of moving from darkness to light, from suffering to acceptance, from judgment to allowing, from insignificance to significance, from disease to wholeness, and from separation to unity.
6. As we work through each step on the spiritual journey, we are really making a horizontal move along an imaginary Scale from left to right within that step, followed by a vertical move up to the next step and move in that from right to left. In fact in the game of life developed by Imperience there are two steps for each level of consciousness one for moving from left to right and the other for moving from right to left. As you are aware the two steps relate to one level of consciousness depicted more candidly in the book “Towards Infinity’ of the Master. Such ten steps are to be covered if one desires to move into universal consciousness. “The lessons of spiritual life are taught by the Lord very systematically. As my trainer and father put it “He loves us so much that every opportunity is provided for us to grow. When we ask for strength, He provides us difficulties to make us strong; when we ask for prosperity, He gives us the brain and brawn to work; when we ask for courage He causes danger to overcome; when we ask for love, He sends us troubled people to help; when ask for wisdom, He gives us problem to solve. The way of instruction of the Lord is difficult to understand but when we understand the joy of awareness of His love has no bounds."Needless to say the aspirants may have to be honest and clear while attempting to fill the forms related to Pind desh questionnaire to evaluate themselves and their progress in the path.
7. We work through thoughts, feelings, beliefs, habits and actions in relation to any given step in order to lift them all to a higher level. As we achieve mastery within a step, we propel ourselves vertically to the next step. At any time, we may move so far from left to right within a given step that you slide right off the scale and into full consciousness, the awakened state. Others find themselves awakening spontaneously, with no conscious plan to do so. For most of us, however, we must work to move both, horizontally and vertically in order to make our way on the spiritual journey. However while moving left or right we find ourselves blocked with no light in sight. Dependence on the Master is the only course of action we have and the Master is ever ready to lead us on the path.
8. You must have by now feeling not comfortable hearing this as the situations in real sadhana are not all that simple and we are faced with messy situations often in our sadhana. Though I said the movement is linear or vertical many a time the path is a spiral one. We find ourselves skipping steps and certain times repeating the steps and relearn the lessons. Certain times we seem to be on two steps as we all observed in the case of viveka and Vairagya and devotion'and surrender. We fall back many a time in the path to reassure ourselves that we are on the right track. Sometimes we seem to move two steps forward to fall back by a step of three to relearn the lessons of spiritual life.
9. It is important to remember that all human souls are on the same journey to remember who we really are. When Master says all are moving in the path we find it rather odd since we have evaluated others by our yardsticks and call them as either believers or heretics either good or bad. Master says “The idea may look foreign to you at first sight, but if you pause a little to consider the problem (the Destination) you will surely come to the conclusion that you are sailing towards your own Home, wherefrom you have been snatched away by the irony of Fate.” (SDG 118) In reality there is only one Spirit, and all egos are fictions or illusions. The Vedic statement “Ekam Sat Viprah bahuda vadanti" is true in every sense of the term. In the spiritual journey we have undertaken it is what we do and who we become along the way to realisation of oneness is what matters. Ironically whatever we become is illusory and the ever receding infinite keeps us restless in the path and the journey is on and on.
10. As move in the path and near our destination several godly attributes get conferred on us. The major divine attributes are all related to sadhana and they help us move in the path with greater strides joyfully. It is obvious that as we progress in the path we feel that we have a separate entity and that others do not feel all that comfortable with us and vice- versa. I do not intend to state things which you all know: Vairagya is an essential! divine attribute and that alone keeps us going in the path accepting things good and bad as we progress. The next attribute which may appear as opposite of the first is a sense of belonging or trying to fit in and love and be loved. This is real viveka and here we learn the real meaning of our life.
11. With a mixture of these basic spiritual qualities we start feeling a sort of identity for ourselves and an awareness of selfhood starts getting expressed. We think we are the centre and around us are many clusters of entities somehow related. Cooperation of inferior type starts where our advantages are also weighed while cooperating with others. The pseudo self starts expressing its rebellious natures and tries to make changes in the circumstances and environment. Naturally this is met with relatively less success or many a time total failure. Then mutual dependence gets understood. Such a situation naturally compels us to change our belief systems and we start developing compassion towards other clusters of entities or beings around us. Communion among the entities starts while previously only communication was obtaining.
12. Then we arrive at the stage of confidence and strength and consequent authenticity of being devoted to the pursuit in the path. Love and devotion to the path and the goal gains importance over and above our own strength and courage. All this it may be easily understood is the off shoot of companionships and camaraderie which is had in satsanghs and other gatherings. Though we are all in search of-the goal and however steadfast we are in the path we feel lost or face crisis or find ourselves in search of real guide. Dependence on the guide which was but nominal in the beginning throws out many sprouts and all demanding constant wetting and pruning. Surrender to Master really develops at this stage only and till this stage whenever we used the word surrender it is simple loquaciousness only.
13. The real Master then connects us to the Lord and we yield to His will in every sense. Our life breaths then “Oh! Lord it is not my will but Thine alone will be done.” Prior to arriving at this condition it would be considered as a precarious abnegation. In the earlier stages surrender is Thy will is fine so long as it is in my interests’ only. Once we have arrived at this stage there is not even an iota of doubt about the ail pervasive care of the divine in our life and being. Wounds of life in the physical, vital, intellectual and suprarational levels all get healed due to the tender care and loving concern of the Master to his Banda (slave).
14. Then we start sharing the divine work with the Master and this happens when our intuition levels open up and we start finding an inner purpose of our being. We start guiding others with confidence in the Master and a thoroughness that comes along with such faith. Infallibility of our will is one of the characteristics though such infallibility is only in the realm of service oriented activities. Several are the gifts from the Master at this stage mostly arriving as tools to serve others and bring change spiritual fabric. We start participating in creative functions of the Master which stage Master calls Prapanna Prabhu. Then happens transmutation where we start Mastering spiritual powers, laws & forces of the Source. Then there is no awareness of the petty self and it is the entire Master and His realm. That is the realm of Unity and we can say we are Awakened, Enlightened, in The Now. Here we are neither ‘this’ nor 'that'.
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