THE MEANS

There are numerous means and practices prescribed for Realisation, out of which we have to choose that which guarantees speedy success. Now what that may be let each person judge for himself. For a hint I quote below the judicious opinion of Swami Vivekananda on this point. “It is Raja Yoga alone that successfully leads a man up to the highest level of approach, and none but one having the capacity to apply his own internal powers through Pranahuti is fit for being a guide or master.” I may also assure you that Hatha Yoga has no access beyond ajna chakra. Besides, there is another serious defect in it. When we start with the bodily exercises of Hatha Yoga, the consciousness of our physical efforts with the idea of self in the background also remains all through. Thus the ego instead of reducing goes on increasing thereby. But that is not the case with Raja Yoga where one proceeds with subtlest means for silencing the ever-active tendencies of the mind. Besides, in practicing this one is always away from the idea of the body since he has fixed his attention upon the subtlest.

Grihastha ashrama is not a bar in gaining the Real. I think this is the best ashrama in which higher approach is easily possible. I am a grihastha and my master was also one. I assure you that a perfect saint may be found in this ashrama alone. We perform our duties and remember Him as the Ultimate Reality. Duty is itself worship if the idea that it is the order of God remains in the mind.

The method of meditation on the heart is to think of the Godly light within it. When you begin meditation in this way please think once only that Godly light within is attracting you. Do not mind if extraneous ideas intrude during meditation. Let them come, but you go on with your own work. Sit in an easy posture for one hour in the morning in quite a natural way. If you require the philosophy of this method I shall reveal it to you after sometime. You should only meditate. You should not struggle with the ideas and thoughts which generally come in during meditation. Concentration is the result of meditation. Those who want concentration for the sake of meditation and force their mind to it generally meet with failure. It must be remembered that while practicing these methods one should not force his mind too much, but only sit in a normal way. Sit in an easy posture for one hour in the morning in quite a natural way. It is better to sit in the grey of the morning for meditation or, if that is not possible, then at any fixed hour convenient to you, the abhyasi. Do not feel disturbed by the outer things but remain engaged with your work, thinking that they are in a way helping you to feel the necessity of greater absorption in your practice.

In the evening sit again in the same easy posture for half an hour and think that the complexities, the net-work of your previous thoughts and grossness or solidity in your body, are all melting away or evaporating in the form of smoke from your back side. It will help you in purging your mind and make you receptive of the efficacious influence of our great master. As soon as I find that you are free from undesirable matter I will take appropriate action. We soar high by awakening and cleaning the chakras and the sub-points thereof, taking up kundalini also in the end, with which the abhyasi has nothing to do by himself. It is exclusively the outlook of the master.

To impart spirituality really takes no time for a guide of high calibre like my master. The time is mostly spent in effecting the making of the abhyasi. We should proceed with our abhyas with faith and devotion, and the thing desired will come to us by itself.

I have often met the heads of various sansthas, and to my greatest surprise and sorrow I have found not only transmission sadly missing everywhere but also that to most of them it was quite a stranger. Swami Vivekananda had that capacity but such personalities are always rare. Personalities like my revered master are not accidentally born. They come down only when the world waits for them in eager expectation. Such higher personalities or incarnations come down in material form to remodel the ways and methods of upasana in accordance with the need of the time. So was the case with Lord Krishna, who was a great master of his time. My revered master too has modified the system, adjusting it to the needs of the present time. His most wonderful invention in the spiritual field is the one related with the abhyasi’s approach to the Central Region, as stated in the Efficacy of Raj Yoga. I am following in the footsteps of my great master. Often people ask me to infuse into them the Godly force or energy up to the highest degree all at once. To be frank I am always eager to do so, but to my regret I seldom find the necessary capacity in the abhyasi. The delay caused is only on account of that deficiency, and for that I cannot be blamed as a miser by any means. All that I possess is for all humanity. I am bound by the sacred pledge given to my master as guru-dakshina, to spread spirituality far and wide without any reserve or distinction. I am doing it now and will go on with it all my life. You must not, however, be disappointed. If you have really entrusted your case to me I promise my full support for your perfection provided you too do the needful.

As to how the mind should be kept engaged, I may relate to you what I did during my period of abhyas. My master was everything to me as He is today. I meditated upon his form within my heart and outside as well. But I do not recommend this to you for you have not seen him. The benefit I derived from this process is beyond words to describe. Some people may have objection to it though the 37th Sutra of Patanjali's ‘Yoga Darshana' fully supports it. (Vitaragavishayam va chittam I.37) I am not at all in favour of meditation on the pictures of saints. Constant remembrance of God is, of course, a special feature in spirituality. The same I recommend to you to try, besides your usual practice. The method for cultivating constant remembrance is to think with firm conviction during your leisure hours, in office or at home, in the street or in the market, that God is pervading all over and everywhere and you are thinking of Him. Try to remain in the same thought as long as you can.

I am glad that you are eager to reach the stage of vairagya you will attain it without doubt, but only when you are sufficiently cleaned; and it depends upon you as well, for which you are advised the evening practice. I feel you are improving spiritually, for which I give you a hint to understand. You must be feeling lightness, though only a little, which is a sign that complexities are melting away gradually and the spiritual force is flowing into you. Try to feel it and inform me accordingly. If you do not get time for meditation during the day then do it when you go to bed, or after midnight (after a short sleep) when everything around is calm and quiet. In that case proceed first with the cleaning process fixed for the evening. Do it for about fifteen minutes and after it devote an hour or so to meditation as directed.

We should not weaken ourselves by thinking of past karmas. We should always try to attempt the highest in order to make the future bright. It is very difficult to have all favourable circumstances in this worldly life. What we are to do is to adjust ourselves to the conditions as best as we can, and to utilise them to our greatest advantage. Constant remembrance will greatly help you in such cases also. The domestic problem is acute everywhere, but we have to put up with it somehow.

One thing more by way of practice is to offer daily the following brief prayer at bed time, in the most suppliant mood and with a heart overflowing with Love for the Divine.

“O Master!
Though art the real goal of human life
We are yet but slaves of wishes putting bar
to our advancement.
Thou art the only God and Power
to bring us up to that stage.”

Repeat the above in your mind once or twice and meditate over it for a few minutes.

The prayer must be offered in such a way as if some most miserable man is laying down his miseries with a deeply afflicted heart before the Supreme Master, imploring His mercy and grace with tearful eyes. Then alone can he become a deserving aspirant of spirituality.

Whatever comes into action is always in accordance with the will of God who is the actual doer. The difficulty arises when we link it with our own will or action, thinking it to be the result of our efforts. We rejoice at success and feel aggrieved at failure merely for that reason. This is the only thing which serves to keep us in bondage. The absence of this egoistic feeling means the advent of real potent vigour. How can this be achieved? Only by linking the self with the great power of the Divine. Doing so, we go on covering stage after stage and we get closer and closer to Him. It is a pity to find only a few persons trying to link themselves with the Supreme, not to speak of achieving complete negation. For that the only path is that of surrender, though it is a pretty hard task especially for those who are overloaded with their own weight.

Discipline is the elementary step of surrender. If it is not possible to adhere to mental discipline in the beginning, one can take up at least the physical discipline to start with. After that if the teacher's capability is well-established upon the mind, and the pupil too is a sincere seeker of Reality, mental submission will begin to develop by itself. When he has set his foot on the lowest rung of the ladder the next one will be in his sight by itself. When the pursuit is taken up thus, love and devotion will begin to develop automatically, especially when one is convinced of the merits of the teacher. I am not sure whether all those associated with me have craving for realisation or not. If they have, these things must have developed in them automatically. There must be in their heart an interest for that, and the interest develops only when one feels firmly attached to the goal. Some may however sit by me only to have their mind at rest for a while. Even this may be worthwhile to me to some extent, for I may thereby be offering them some comfort for a while at least. But that alone is not enough. There may also be some who like to associate with me on the basis of fellow-feeling and friendship, not of course taking into account anything of spirituality. This also may not be too little for me, because I greatly rejoice and feel refreshed when I find anyone bearing in his heart love for me. But why after all should anyone bother about it for my sake when there is a lot for him in the world to love and like? He alone who is himself lost, or at least likes to be lost, or is even willing to lose all, may perhaps be inclined towards me. My tendency of mind is somewhat peculiar. Having lost myself in toto, I now like others to trace me out. I believe a wise man will never come up for it. That may be the reason why I fail to excite emotion in the heart of others because in me that too is lost like my own being. When that is the case, what else then remains in me for a clue to help them to trace me out? The idea will be more clear if one develops a similar type of Divine intoxication.

DOUBTS

I do not know whether your Maulvi Saheb has given me room in the cabin of his heart or not. If he has, the question then arises whether he has kept me free or in bonds. If I am free then alone can I be of some use to him. The meaning implied therein is whether he has made me his own, allowing me my rights, or depriving me of them. If he kept my rights reserved I may then prove helpful to him. As for the other friend, I wish him speedy progress. But the fact is that he wants to build his temple of spirituality on the sandy foundation of doubt which is the quintessence of philosophy. My view is that philosophy must start from ‘wonder'. Under our system of sadhana, there comes a stage at which the feeling of wonder gets created in the abhyasi. I had remained in that condition for a number of years. With the introduction of this stage spirituality takes an entirely new turn.

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