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Chapter V -
Spiritual Progress Is Like a Spiral
You have to plod on and scale many hills. You cannot climb the
Everest in one jump. There is no jumping on the spiritual
path.
Self-realization is not like a six-year post-graduate course.
It is the result of intense protracted Sadhana.
There is no short-cut in the spiritual path. There is no royal
road to the kingdom of immortal bliss. There is no
half-measure in the divine path. Strict, hard discipline is
wanted. Then alone you can conquer Maya. Only then can you
control the mind.
Saints and Yogins will never think that they have controlled
the mind. Only the deluded Sadhaka will imagine he has
controlled the mind and get a terrible downfall. It is the
very nature of life, mind, and Prakriti to be constantly in
motion. When there is the idea in the mind that the highest
goal is yet to be achieved, you will always move towards it.
If you imagine that you have got to the top, you will anyhow
have to move, and that movement will be downward. You will
have a downfall. Aspire for higher realization till the breath
ceases in the nostril.
Spiritual progress is slow, as the spiritual Sadhana is
difficult and laborious. It is like the spiral. In the
beginning, great striving is needed. Gradually, the circle
becomes smaller and smaller. So also, the striving becomes
less and less. The aspirant gains spiritual strength slowly.
He marches faster and faster. Finally, he does not go by
furlongs after furlongs. He proceeds by mile after mile. He
gallops and gallops. Therefore, be patient; be persevering; be
steady.
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