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Chapter VI - Signs
of Spiritual Progress
The gradual inward progress is mostly silent and unseen, like
the quiet unfolding of a bud into a flower in the hours of the
night. Therefore, do not be dejected. Do not depress yourself
with the idea that you are not progressing. Real spiritual
progress is really and accurately measured by the
peacefulness, serenity, and calmness that you manifest in
waking state. You will have a healthy body and mind, the
excretions will be scanty, the voice will be sweet, the face
will be brilliant, the eyes will be lustrous. You will be ever
calm, tranquil, and poised; you will be ever cheerful,
fearless, and contented. You will be dispassionate and
discriminative. There will be no attraction for the world.
Things that used to upset you before will not upset you now.
You will have an unruffled mind. You will have introversion.
Things that used to give you pleasure produce disgust or a
reverse effect now. You will have a one-pointed, sharp, subtle
mind. You will be longing to have more meditation. You will
experience lights, visions, divine smell, divine taste. The
idea that all forms are forms of the Lord will get stronger
and stronger in you. You will feel everywhere the presence of
God. You will experience the nearness of God. You will have a
very steady Asana. You will develop a burning desire for
selfless service.
Watch whether you are stationary in the spiritual path,
retrogressing, or advancing. If your Japa, meditation or
Vedantic Vichara thickens your veil and fattens your egoism,
it is not then a spiritual Sadhana. Remember this point well.
It is only a kind of occult practice. Watch, introspect.
Practice self-analysis and kill ruthlessly this formidable
egoism. This is important Sadhana. Egoism will lurk like a
thief and assume various forms like a chameleon or a Bahurupi
(a dramatic actor).
Do not stop the Sadhana when you get a few glimpses of
realization. Continue practice till you are fully established
in Bhuma, the unconditioned Brahman. This is important. If you
stop practice and move about in the world, there is every
likelihood of a downfall. The reaction will be tremendous.
Examples are not lacking. Numerous persons have been so
ruined. A glimpse cannot give you perfect safety. Do not be
carried away by name and fame. You can renounce your wife,
children, parents, house, friends, and relatives. It is very,
very difficult to renounce the intellectual pleasure, the
pleasure from name and fame. I seriously warn you. A man who
can draw happiness from the Atman within, will never care a
jot for this trivial, paltry affair. The world is a mighty big
thing for a worldly man. It is a straw for the Knower of
Brahman. It is a mustard, a pin's point, a dot, a bubble, an
airy nothing for a Brahma-jnani (Knower of Brahman). Be
circumspective. Ignore all these trivial things. Be steady
with your practice. Never stop the practice till the final
beatitude is reached. Never cease Sadhana till you can
constantly dwell in full Brahmic consciousness.
Do not let failures discourage you, but go on doing your best.
Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures, as this
will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do
not repeat them in future. Be cautious. Just think of the
causes which led to your failures and try to remove them in
future. Strengthen yourself with new vigor and virtues.
Develop slowly your will-power.
Every temptation that is resisted, every evil thought that is
curbed, every desire that is subdued, every bitter word that
is withheld, every noble aspiration that is encouraged, every
sublime thought that is cultivated, adds to the development of
will-force, good character, and attainment of eternal bliss
and immortality.
Every bit of Sadhana done is surely recorded without fail in
your hidden consciousness. No Sadhana ever goes in vain. Every
bit of it is credited immediately towards your evolution. This
is the law. Think not negative thoughts, but calmly go on with
the Sadhana. Be regular at it. Without missing a single day,
proceed onward with your spiritual practices. Little by
little, the power accumulates and it will grow. Ultimately,
the cumulative force of all the continuous earnest Sadhana
done perseveringly and patiently over a long period of life
has its inevitable grand consummation at the supreme moment
when it bears fruit in the form of blissful Realization.
Let the Sadhana be regular, continuous, unbroken, and earnest.
Not only regularity, but also continuity in Sadhana and
meditation is necessary if you want to attain Self-realization
quickly. A spiritual stream once set going does not dry up,
unless the channel-bed is locked, unless there is stagnation.
Be vigilant eternally. Meditate regularly. Annihilate the
under-current of Vasanas.
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