Message at Hyderabad on 28-05-1967

This is a very happy occasion that I am among my brethren. I pour-fourth my warm thanks to our associates and others, who have helped us in building the Yoga Ashram, though yet in miniature. Now we are in a better position to render service to our fellow beings in the best possible way.

It is very sad in the present state of society that they have given up the idea of service and taken to the idea of Masterhood instead. History tells us that we have grown from poverty to power, and from servant to Master. The idea of Master, is pregnant, really, with the idea of service but generally our saints forget it although the very idea of service has brought them to their present state. When the basic idea is forgotten, the structure falls off, and there remains neither servant nor Master. The proper sort of training, if the Guru is perfect, is that the teacher should generate among his disciples that sort of smell which leads them to the garden. A man is not fit to impart Spiritual training unless and until he has developed the capacity of fomenting his disciples with superior force which is all and all.

The question now arises, how to find out such a man. In my humble opinion they should judge first their fitness to deserve such a Master. If they fall short of it they should make themselves deserving. Sometimes, the fortune favours and one gets such a Master even though one is not fit for the best sort of spiritual training. In that case there is nothing but the grace of God. Those, who are deserving, for them I repeat my pet sentence that the real cry of the pangful heart of a true seeker brings the Master to his door. For making one-self deserving one must have his goal and his present position clearly in his view. Afterwards one should adopt the means which should be conducive to the spiritual growth, and guard against the retarding things which may prevent one from attaining the objective. These should be the basic lines which will constitute the search for Reality. There are so many among us who have the idea that simply knowing of God is enough. This is their wrong conception. Having God is the real subject of spirituality.

If we proceed methodically experiences are there and the transformation takes its root from the very first day. Of course, there are experiences in the beginning which are mixed up with imaginary ideas, but as we proceed on we come to that sort of experience in the end which requires no other experience.

There are so many who worship God in their own way but aimlessly. So they remain revolving in the sphere they have started from. Generally the people adopt the methods which they see others following. It is a sad tale of Hinduism that every so called Saint gives one method or the other without having any experience of his own in the field of spirituality. The method should be correct and dynamic based on the experiences of Great Saints or sacred scriptures. One should grasp it earnestly, not devoting one-self to the ways and means which do not carry one far. I am reminded of the words of Historian Alberuni, who came to India in 11th Century. He said that the degeneration of the Hindus has commenced because they were not prepared to heed others' point of view. They think of themselves as final in every sphere of life.

In our system a teacher takes out the hurdles in the progress of the seeker and side by side imparts the divine effulgence in him, which if abhyasi does it himself takes hundreds of years and often fails to clean his system. We start with the meditation upon heart, taking the object of meditation as subtle as possible. Sri Ramanujachari has forbidden meditation on concrete object on the basis of ancient authority.

I earnestly pray that all of us, leaving our prejudices, may come to the path of righteousness which promises Liberation.