Hari Aum.
The spiritual path truly is a pathless path. One size does not fit all here. There are some basic ingredients to spiritual life-- practice of ethics, control of the senses, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, raja yoga.
We each have to synthesise a unique path that works for us, that we can practice given our unique life circumstances. Like chefs creating a unique recipe, we have to examine the various ingredients of sadhana and combine them in a way that works for us. Another person's recipe may not suit our spiritual stomach as it were. We need to find the unique spiritual food recipe that suits our temperament.
Some may practice intense asana and pranayama and try to raise the kundalini. Others may read spiritual books and meditate on the abstract formless God. Still others may do group chanting of the names of God and engage in pujas and ritual worship. Some may throw themselves into selfless service of living beings as a worship of God. Others may give great gifts in charity and practice extraordinary vows of prolonged silence and fasting to control the turbulent senses.
When we read about the lives of spiritual greats of times gone by, they serve as an inspiration to us. But we need not precisely copy their spiritual recipe, just as they did not copy anyone else. Each spiritually successful person of the past found a unique spiritual path that worked for him or her.
What works for us is not something that we will find in books. This knowledge has to come from within us. We know ourselves like nobody else does. We know our minds like few others do. Based on our past experiences and knowledge of what we are capable of, we need to synthesise a unique formula of spiritual practice that we can actually practice. Because it is only actual practice that counts in spiritual life. Day-dreaming about sadhana that we will do later or wish we could do will get us nowhere.
'Be up and doing', my Guru Sivananda used to say. And that is what we need to do. Be up and doing. As Sivananda says, we are the makers of our destiny. Nobody can make or mar our destiny except ourselves. In this spiritual endeavour we have the Divine Him/Herself as our trusted partner. If we are sincere, we are bound to succeed. That is after all what we are born for.
In the Bhagavatam, there is a bit that says that Narayana was not satisfied in His heart after creating numerous birds, animals and other species. He then created the human being, who alone was capable of intuiting the spiritual truth of life, and then felt satisfied. This tells us of the value of human life and what we are capable of. In our own ordinary life, we can experience extraordinary inner change through sadhana. If Narayana was not satisfied until He created us, then we should also not be satisfied until we fulfil the purpose for which He created us....that purpose is the attainment of the spiritual goal of life.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
The spiritual path truly is a pathless path. One size does not fit all here. There are some basic ingredients to spiritual life-- practice of ethics, control of the senses, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, raja yoga.
We each have to synthesise a unique path that works for us, that we can practice given our unique life circumstances. Like chefs creating a unique recipe, we have to examine the various ingredients of sadhana and combine them in a way that works for us. Another person's recipe may not suit our spiritual stomach as it were. We need to find the unique spiritual food recipe that suits our temperament.
Some may practice intense asana and pranayama and try to raise the kundalini. Others may read spiritual books and meditate on the abstract formless God. Still others may do group chanting of the names of God and engage in pujas and ritual worship. Some may throw themselves into selfless service of living beings as a worship of God. Others may give great gifts in charity and practice extraordinary vows of prolonged silence and fasting to control the turbulent senses.
When we read about the lives of spiritual greats of times gone by, they serve as an inspiration to us. But we need not precisely copy their spiritual recipe, just as they did not copy anyone else. Each spiritually successful person of the past found a unique spiritual path that worked for him or her.
What works for us is not something that we will find in books. This knowledge has to come from within us. We know ourselves like nobody else does. We know our minds like few others do. Based on our past experiences and knowledge of what we are capable of, we need to synthesise a unique formula of spiritual practice that we can actually practice. Because it is only actual practice that counts in spiritual life. Day-dreaming about sadhana that we will do later or wish we could do will get us nowhere.
'Be up and doing', my Guru Sivananda used to say. And that is what we need to do. Be up and doing. As Sivananda says, we are the makers of our destiny. Nobody can make or mar our destiny except ourselves. In this spiritual endeavour we have the Divine Him/Herself as our trusted partner. If we are sincere, we are bound to succeed. That is after all what we are born for.
In the Bhagavatam, there is a bit that says that Narayana was not satisfied in His heart after creating numerous birds, animals and other species. He then created the human being, who alone was capable of intuiting the spiritual truth of life, and then felt satisfied. This tells us of the value of human life and what we are capable of. In our own ordinary life, we can experience extraordinary inner change through sadhana. If Narayana was not satisfied until He created us, then we should also not be satisfied until we fulfil the purpose for which He created us....that purpose is the attainment of the spiritual goal of life.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
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