Lakshmi sahasranama

 Hari Aum.

Om Sri Mahalakshmyai Namah.

I hope all readers are keeping well and that your sadhana is going smoothly. We are now exactly a month away from Navaratri, the nine day celebration of the glories of the Divine Mother.

I chanced to come across the Lakshmi sahasranama today, a very beautiful prayer to Mother Lakshmi and wanted to share this with you.

In Sanskrit, 'sahasra' means 'one thousand', and 'nama' means 'name'. So 'sahasranama' means 'one thousand names'. The two most well-known and popular sahasranamas are the ones dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the Divine Mother Lalita. These are recited in temples and in the homes of devotees all over the world. However, there are sahasranamas for various other deities, including Mother Lakshmi. 

Today is Friday, the day of the Goddess, and I was listening to the Mahalakshmi ashtakam (eight verses in praises of Mother Lakshmi) this evening while doing some rather dull, household chores. After listening to this and also singing along for a while, I was in the mood to continue to enjoy the experience of devotion to Mother Lakshmi.

Knowing that 'sahasranamas' tend to be on a longer side, I decided to do an online search and came up with a beautiful rendition of the Lakshmi sahasranama (please see links below). The meaning of the Sanskrit names of Lakshmi were so sweet and melodious to the ear that I felt I really had to write about it today. I was also very tempted to perform a puja while listening to the sahasranama (will keep this for another occasion soon as it is now a bit late in the day).

This prayer is described in the Skanda Purana and is said to have been recited by the sage Sanatkumara (who explained to other sages who then went on to teach this to their own disciples). 

Lakshmi sahasranama recitation: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8EGm9OwSNc

The entire prayer (in various scripts):

https://vignanam.org/samskritam/sri-lakshmi-sahasra-nama-stotram.html

Meaning of each of the one thousand names of Mother Lakshmi:

https://www.teluguone.com/devotional/amp/content/mahalakshmi-sahasranamam-%E2%80%93-1008-holy-names-of-goddess-english-script-937-27566.html

The Lakshmi sahasranama has a very sweet, benevolent, gentle energy associated with it. The Goddess is this form is essentially depicted as the nourishing and compassionate Mother of the entire universe.

The sahasranama broadly describes Her as One who:

-bestows peace, happiness, health and wealth (both material and spiritual)

-vanquishes evil (for example, She is described as Kali, Durga, Narasimhi and Varahi)

-gives wisdom (She is described as Sarasvati)

-has a beautiful form and qualities  

-is the beloved of Vishnu

-is the embodiment of mantras and worship

-can be propitiated by the recitation of mantras and performance of worship

-is the origin of all Creation

-is the Sustainer and Destroyer of all 

-deludes (as Maya) and also removes delusion (by granting Self realisation)

-is Mother Nature in all aspects (including the five 'great elements' namely, fire, water, earth, air and space)

-is the Supreme Being, the granter of all blessings

From a spiritual perspective, hearing or reciting this is said to grant divine blessings, devotion to God and spiritual liberation. 

From a material perspective, this prayer is said is to grant worldly comforts and wealth, a peaceful home and good health. 

From the perspective of Vedic astrology, this would be particularly helpful for those who have a weak Venus in their birth chart (as Lakshmi is the presiding deity for this planet) and those who are ruled by the Venusian signs (Taurus and Libra as the ascendant and/or moon sign).

I have to admit I really enjoyed listening to this sahasranama and feeling connected to Mother Lakshmi--I plan to listen to it many more times in the coming weeks and will hopefully learn to recite at least some of it (I was also surprised and pleased to see the name 'Aparna' on the list; I have always secretly wished my first name had a more direct connection with Vishnu and was glad to finally discover that this is in fact the case!).

I hope that you too enjoy listening to, reciting and contemplating upon the meaning of this beautiful meditative prayer dedicated to Mother Lakshmi.

Om Sri MahaLakshmyai Namah.

May Mother Lakshmi bless us all.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Eclipse: enhancing the power of japa

Hari Aum.

There are two eclipses coming up in the next two weeks. On August 7 or 8 (depending on where you live), tomorrow, there will be a lunar eclipse. On August 21, there will be a solar eclipse.

Here is a link which gives the timings and other details regarding the eclipse:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2017-august-7

Significance of an eclipse - a spiritual and jyotish perspective

Eclipses are given great significance in spirituality and vedic astrology. In general this period is very good for spiritual activity, and very negative for material matters.

Sivananda writes in his book 'Japa yoga': "It should be borne in mind that japa done during the time of solar or lunar eclipse will produce a tremendous effect and hence this rare opportunity should not be missed by anybody, whenever it offers itself."

Elsewhere he writes: "Those who do Japa at the time of the eclipse derive great benefits. The effect of Japa and Sankirtan during the eclipse contributes towards relieving the suffering of humanity and also of the planets. These people receive the blessings of the gods. They attain perfection quickly."

Vedic astrology states that this period is highly inauspicious for material projects such as starting a new job, signing a contract, setting off on a journey, getting married, or any other 'worldly activity'.

This is because, during an eclipse, either the sun (soul) or the moon (mind) are afflicted by one of the shadowy planets 'Rahu' or 'Ketu'. This can cause lack of clarity in thinking, decision-making, and cause emotional disturbances.

Furthermore, the eclipses take place in a particular astrological sign. While an eclipse affects everyone to some extent or another, those people are maximally affected in whose lagna/ascendant or rasi/moon sign the eclipse takes place. On a personal level, these effects may not always be negative- it depends on the nature of the individual chart- but in general, some form of change or new event can be expected relating to the house in which the eclipse takes place.

The origin of the eclipse: A puranic legend

There is an interesting ancient Puranic legend related to how the eclipse originated. The story relates to Vishnu's second avatar as a tortoise (kurma). The devas (demi-gods such as the gods of fire, sun, wind, water, etc) were weakened and afflicted by the the asuras (demonic beings). They go to Vishnu and plead for help. Vishnu advises them to seek 'amrita' or divine nectar (this makes the body strong and invincible, but does not grant immortality in the form of spiritual liberation) by churning the milky ocean. He advises them to team up with the asuras who are also keen on acquiring the amrita, as considerable effort is required for the churning.

The devas and asuras then team up and churn the ocean, using mount Meru as the churning rod, the king of serpents Vasuki as the rope, and Vishnu Himself in the form of the tortoise as the support of the churning rod. They churn for a long while, and then to their alarm, a terrible poison emerges from the ocean. The poison threatens to engulf the whole of creation and destroy everything.

At this critical moment, hearing the distressed prayers of living beings, the compassionate Lord Shiva appears. He takes up the poison and swallows it, thus preventing it from harming anyone else. His divine consort, Parvati, is determined that the poison should not enter the body of Shiva, and so stays awake all-night pressing His throat with Her hands to stop the poison descending down. She is successful and the poison remains in Shiva's throat, staining His fair skin, blue. Thus Shiva came to be known as 'Neela-kantha', the blue-throated One. (This event is also said to have lead to the annual tradition of Maha-Shivaratri, when devotees stay awake all-night worshipping Lord Shiva in a variety of ways).

The relieved devas and asuras continue churning the ocean, and now, many wonders and treasures begin to emerge one by one. A divine wish-fulfilling cow, jewels, and even the Goddess Lakshmi. On seeing Lakshmi (appear this way in this Lila, or play of God), the devas and asuras eagerly try to win Her as their wife. However, Lakshmi (symbolising auspiciousness) is the eternal wife of Vishnu (symbolising Dharma, goodness), and She chooses Him alone as Her husband. (This also symbolises the eternal truth that good fortune and happiness follows those who adhere to goodness/dharma. Good fortune and goodness are wedded together. Where there is no goodness, there ultimately will be no fortune).

The intense churning continues, and finally, at long last, there appears the God of healing and ayurveda, Dhanwantari, holding in His hand a pot with the divine nectar amrita. Seeing this, the asuras grab the pot and run off with it in haste to have it all for themselves. The gods are dismayed but Vishnu tells them not to fight the asuras but to relax and watch the play. Vishnu then assumes the form of the enchanting Goddess 'Mohini', She who deludes.

Mohini walks up to the asuras (who are squabbling among themselves as to who should get to taste the nectar first), and seeing Her wondrous beauty, the asuras are stunned and lose their ability think clearly. Mohini then sweetly offers to distribute the amrita fairly between them, and the asuras eagerly agree, thinking it would be very nice to receive the nectar from the hands of this charming lady. She also manages to persuade them to agree to the devas being given a share of the amrita.

Mohini then requests the asuras and devas to stand in two rows facing each other. She then walks between the two rows, supposedly to give the divine nectar to both the demi-gods and the demons. However, She only gives the amrita to the demi-gods and not the demons. Most of the demons are too enchanted by Her appearance to notice what She is actually doing. However one demon, realises what is happening and quietly enters the row of the demi-gods, and stands between Surya (Sun god) and Chandra (Moon god) to receive the nectar.

This demon receives the nectar and has just drunk it, when the Sun and moon gods notice his presence and raise the alarm. They inform Lord Vishnu, who promptly releases His famous discus, the Sudarshan Chakra. The whirring Chakra cuts off the head of the demon, but as he had already drunk the nectar by then, his body is now 'immortal'.

The de-capitated head becomes a living being called 'Rahu'. And the headless body, becomes a living being, called 'Ketu'. These two parts of the demon, furious with the Sun and Moon gods for informing Vishnu and leading to the de-capitation, declare their enemity to these gods.

They swear that they will cause suffering to the Sun and Moon gods, and all living beings, periodically by the phenomenon known as the 'eclipse'. During an eclipse, either Rahu or Ketu, causes suffering to the Sun or the Moon god, according to this legend. Furthemore, as the human being is a microcosm of the macrocosm, the 'eclipse' of the Sun/Moon causes corresponding disturbance and upheaval within human beings (and also other living beings).

Thus ends the story of the eclipse.

This story is said to have an esoteric meaning. The devas and asuras are two forces within us, the forces of good and evil in our minds, which are ever doing battle. During an eclipse, the forces of evil try to overcome those of good, and therefore this time is especially conducive to spiritual practices which call upon the Supreme Being for protection and deliverance.

The churning of the ocean is also said by some to be a metaphor for meditation. When one 'churns' the mind or meditates, often the first thoughts that arise may be negative (anger, fear, and other suppressed emotions)- this represents the 'poison' in the story. But if one patiently continues one's efforts, later 'treasures' emerge from the ocean of the mind, such as peace, bliss, wisdom, virtue and feeling the presence of the divine. And finally, realisation of the immortal nature of one's being, 'amrita' is obtained.

World peace and the eclipse

As per the advice of my Guru Sivananda, I plan to take the opportunity of the eclipse tomorrow to do some extra sadhana. This will be for my own spiritual progress and also for the reduction of suffering on this planet and for world peace.

Eclipses are regarded as having a negative impact on global events generally. While the eclipse affects the entire Earth, those areas where the shadow of an eclipse falls are believed to be more affected. As always, it is important to remember that vedic astrology does not say that planets and their shadows are the cause of human problems. Astrology states that the planets merely indicate the good and bad karma that is to come. An eclipse is generally an indication of upcoming negative karma to be experienced.

With various people predicting a third world war in the near future (and the alarming negative attitudes of some world leaders and violent religious groups), it is vital that we all pray to God for peace. The saints say that prayers and mantras work, and frankly, I feel we don't exactly have any other better alternatives than to believe them and give it a try.

To accept that war and nuclear destruction is inevitable, and feel hopeless, is giving in to asuric negative thinking. A war may happen if God wills it, and then we will have to accept it. But until then, we must do our duty as per the saints, and pray, do japa, kirtan etc to our utmost ability to reduce the possibility of such a war.

There is already much suffering, particularly in some countries, on this planet. We already have a serious duty to pray for the relief of suffering of these people. Let us do this daily, and also take the opportunity of the upcoming eclipses to do some intense prayers for the welfare of all.

Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings be happy.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Story of Ajamila

Hari Aum.

I wanted to share some insights gained from reading a story in the Bhagavatam- the story of Ajamila. Now this is a well-known story that I have heard and read about in the abbreviated version. Today was the first time I have read this story in the orginal, from the Bhagavatam - I read the English translation as my Sanskrit is that of a complete beginner. Nonetheless, this was the first time I read a word-for-word English translation of the Sanskrit original, and frankly, it has left me feeling rather stunned. Stunned at the extraordinary grace of God.

Let me recap the story for you. Ajamila was a decent chap, a gentleman in today's words, a brahmin of those times. He was scholarly, wise, kind, a loving husband, a caring father, a dutiful son. This was his life for a while. Then it all went horribly wrong for him. As often is the case, he fell due to his inability to control his sexual desires. (In modern times too, we are aware of people in prestigious positions who made utter fools of themselves due to their sexual urges overriding any common sense- some examples include Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods- they ruined their public image and lost respect and wealth due to sexually inappropriate behaviour).

Anyway, coming back to Ajamila- like Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods, this guy too was consumed by the fire of passion. He was married to a beautiful and noble woman- but one day he saw a promiscuous man and woman openly having sex in a forest (where he had gone to collect flowers for worship). His became obsessed and infatuated with this woman and could do nothing to get her out of his head. Finally the unfulfilled desires became too painful to bear, and he gave in. He went after her. She was happy to be with a man of some status as she was not well-off. Ajamila dumped his wife and kids and ran off with his new sexy lady. The new lady was not at all noble- she was a woman of dubious character to say the least. And Ajamila's lust had made him pretty nasty too. He began to develop new vile habits to maintain his new family- he lied, cheated, robbed people- basically became a criminal to feed his family. (Remind you of another famous Puranic character? I'm thinking of Ratnakar here- who later became Valmiki). And he had 10 kids by the age of 80- yup, no moderation in sex, and no family planning there.

Anyway, Ajamila's youngest kid was called "Narayana" and he was most fond of this little toddler. It was the custom to name one's kids after God in those days (as it still is in India). And you will soon see why this is not at all a bad idea.

One day, time was up for Ajamila. It was time to die. He was playing with the toddler Narayana, when he suddenly caught sight of some seriously unpleasant looking folks- three beings with erect hairs and holding nooses. He shrank back in fear, and was horrified to find they approached him directly and began to wrap their nooses around his soul located in the heart-space. He felt he was dying. In great fear and terror, he yelled out to his son "Narayana!!!!!!"

A few moments after he yelled "Narayana", he found himself surrounded by four dazzling beings of handsome appearance. They were dressed like Vishnu and looked like Vishnu- in that, they were a dark colour like a raincloud, wore yellow silks, and had four celestial arms in which they held a conch, discus, mace and play lotus.

They immediately freed Ajamila from the nooses. He remained there trembling and went on to witness an extraordinary debate between the two parties.

The fierce beings with the nooses were the servants of the god of Death (Yama) and were called the Yama-dootas (messengers of Death). They were pretty annoyed. Never before had anyone stopped them from doing their duty. They asked the dazzling beings who they were and what the heck was going on. This Ajamila was a sinner they said, and it was their business to take him off to some nasty places where he would pay for the sins committed on this planet. He had committed sins and not done any penance to expiate the sins they said. It was time for him to suffer that which he had inflicted on others- this was the inexorable law of karma and nothing and nobody could stand in its way.

The dazzling beings, who were the servants or messengers of Vishnu, Vishnu-dootas, smiled at the confusion of the Yama-dootas. They stated that Ajamila was in fact no longer a sinner as he had wiped out every one of his hundreds of sins by the mere utterance of the name of Narayana. They agreed that Ajamila had been one nasty dude, but since he had taken the name of Narayana, he had performed the supreme tapas, and wiped out all his innumerable sins (of this lifetime and many previous ones!).

The Yama-dootas were absolutely aghast. Flabbergasted. What!- they thought. How can this be? They raced off to Lord Yama for an explanation as the dazzling beings seemed determined to stand in their way.

 Lord Yama smilingly explained to his messengers that this was indeed an extraordinary truth. Narayana and His Name are One. On uttering the name of Narayana, knowingly or unknowingly, without any faith, devotion or knowledge of what one is doing, he said one still obtains the full merit. One wipes out all one's past sins. The example is given of a strong medicine that works even when the patient has no clue as to how it works.

Ajamila meanwhile wanted to thank the Vishnu-dootas but he did not have time as they disappeared in a trice after doing the job they came to do of freeing him. He was a changed man however. He realised that God had given him a second chance and he was determined to make the most of it. He packed his bags and went to a place called "Haridwar" (meaning the door to Hari)- yes, who knows, this may be the same Haridwar that exists in the Himalayas in North India. He then did a lot of tapas, and attained devotion to Lord Vishnu. When his time was up, the same dazzling beings whom he'd met before appeared before him. After he cast off his earthly body in the sacred Ganga, he was granted a dazzling form like theirs. He then left with them for Vaikuntha, the realm of Vishnu. As a devotee of Vishnu, he attained the holy feet of Vishnu.

Some key points mentioned in the story are:

1. Utterance of the Name of God just once removes sins already committed. This occurs in an instant. However a person may still go on to sin in the future, as the sinful tendency is still present in the mind. This brings us to the next point (which explains the need for prolonged taking of the Name of God).

2. Utterance of the Name of God, many many times, over a long period of time, done as a devotional practice achieves two important spiritual goals :
i) Removes the underlying tendency of the mind to sin (does not just remove past sins)
ii) Develops true devotion for God, Prema, Bhakti which is a rare thing. And this brings us to the next point.

3. Mukti is much easier to attain than bhakti. So states the Bhagavatam. Mukti itself is rare, but Bhakti is rarer still. God gives mukti more easily than Bhakti. To attain bhakti one has to practice sincerely for some time. The fifth purushartha as per the Vishnavas is bhakti.

Now some people will call this story an exaggeration. This is meant for simple folk they will say, to encourage them to do a little japa, a little kirtan, to walk the path of bhakti, to worship Vishnu. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink- what simpletons, they will say.

But the sages, devotees and Gurus shake their head and say, no this is no exaggeration. This is the saving grace of God. He is love, He is power- His Name and He are One. Therefore it is not at all surprising that uttering His Name can give such tremendous results. Take His Name and attain the highest good they beg us.

But the majority of us are are low petty-minded people. We cannot believe that anyone can love that much. We ourselves lack love, we ourselves lack power. So we struggle to believe in the love and power of God and His Name.

Even those of us walking the spiritual path, are gripped with doubt from time to time. I include myself in the category above of low, petty-minded people. There are two sides of my mind, ever in battle.
The dominant side of my mind, by God's grace, is the one that insists on doing japa daily, no matter what. This side has strong faith in the Lord and His Name. But the weak whining doubting side is also there, asking if all this isn't just an exaggeration. The battle will continue until the Name of God itself transforms all doubts into faith and devotion.

Anyway I recommend reading this story in the Bhagavatam in the original. It is something to read the actual words (even a translation) of the characters- the Vishnu-dootas, Yama-dootas, Lord Yama, Suka and Parikshit.

The above is just an outline. Wonderful are their dialogues, wonderful are the concepts discussed. The arguments and counter-arguments. Wow is the only word that remains afterwards. I felt pretty awestruck and speechless for a while afterwards, even though I've heard the story before.

Glory to the Name of Hari. Which is none other than He.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Pingala's example: overcoming despondency in spiritual life

Hari Aum.

Despondency is a common and serious obstacle in the spiritual path. This is likely to grip most sadhakas at some point or the other during their spiritual life. One may be gripped occasionally by a mood of anxiety and melancholy - at such times one may wonder,  how can this herculean task of controlling the mind be achieved? How can all desires be eradicated? When will the mind be freed of the six enemies of spiritual life (pride, anger, lust, greed, envy and delusion)? When will jnana dawn? When will bhakti be attained? When will the ego be transcended? When will God be attained?

One hears the clarion call of one's Guru and other spiritual greats saying "Exert. Do sadhana. Reveal your true nature as we have done". But the mind asks all the questions described above- essentially wondering how this is ever going to happen.

One quails at the thought of comparing oneself to a Sivananda or a Vivekananda. One thinks I am like an ant, they are like an elephant- where is the comparison? One may sometimes despair at one's own mind which repeatedly runs after sense objects, which can only think of God for a limited time in the day before it needs a dose of worldly thoughts. How can one compare oneself with the spiritual greats who thought of nothing but God in order to attain God? The mind may make assumptions such as "I'm sure the minds of the spiritual greats were never as weak and worldly as my mind is....it's going to take aeons for me to attain God".

This type of despairing negative thinking reduces one's motivation on the spiritual path and becomes a serious obstacle and a self-fulfilling prophecy. If one believes one cannot attain God, one will not exert properly and one will not attain God. On the other hand, if one believes one has a chance, one will exert maximally and the rest is in the hands of Guru and God- at least one can say one tried one's best (and God surely will help those who help themselves as the yogis say).

At times like this it is useful to remember the lives of certain people from the Puranas. For example the story of Pingala. Pingala was a lady who slept with people for money - in modern terms, a sex-worker. She focused on the bodily pleasures alone with little interest in spiritual matters. One day, the story goes, a thief brought her a parrot as a gift. Someone had taught the parrot to say the mantra /name of God "Rama". The parrot frequently said "Rama, Rama!" and Pingala found this name interesting and pleasing to the ear and also began to say "Rama, Rama". Over time by repeating saying "Rama", her mind was purified and she attained God. And as per the Puranas, she attained God one lifetime I may add (not millions of lifetimes).

If a lady without any interest in spiritual matters such as Pingala could attain God in one lifetime by simply uttering the name of God without even understanding its meaning, then why not the rest of us? We can tell our mind "We may not be a Sivananda or a Vivekananda, but surely we are not less than Pingala. We can do what she did. We must have a chance if she had!". It may take one lifetime or more depending on the will of God, but we need not despair. (We know of other Puranic characters too such as Ajamila and Ratnakar/Valmiki who started at a very low level and attained spiritual heights by uttering the name of God).

The yogis say the name of God is infinitely powerful and purifying for the mind. Who then are we to say "It is bound to take millions of lifetimes"- is this not demonstrative of a lack of faith in the name of God. It may take millions of lifetimes to attain God or one or a few- let God decide. But let us note that, based on the Puranas, He does not keep people who say His name repeatedly waiting for millions of lifetimes- as demonstrated in the case of Pingala and yogis of modern times.

Plenty of yogis were arrogant, ignorant and downright unspiritual at the start of their spiritual lives- they were transformed by contact with their Guru and the name of God. Examples of modern saints who started off rather unspiritually include Swami Chinmayananda and Swami Vishnudevananda. Swami Chinmaya went all the way up to Rishikesh to write some nasty things about how Swamis are a hoax. However the holy atmosphere and sadhus transformed his nature and his latent spiritual samskaras unfolded and he did intense tapas for years and is said to have attained God.

Similarly Swami Vishnu refused to bow down at the feet of his Guru Sivananda on their first encounter thinking why should I bow down to any Swami! Swami Sivananda understood his thinking and surprised him by prostrating fully before him - this act taught Swami Vishnu the importance of humility and the understanding that God resides in everyone- he then became Sivananda's disciple, did intense tapas, spread yoga teaching and the Om Namo Narayanaya mantra around the world for peace.

So plenty of people who became spiritual greats in one lifetime had latent spiritual samskaras but also serious flaws of pride, ignorance etc at the start of their spiritual lives. In one lifetime, they took the name of God and thus allowed it to transform them completely and realised their true nature as one with God.

Why then shall we despair? Let pride, anger, delusion and other negative emotions assail us again and again - we simply need to continue our practice which will weaken these negative qualities with time, and strengthen the opposite positive qualities of humility, patience, wisdom, kindness and so on.

If Pingala could do it, then by God, so can we. Nil desperandum, never despair - as Sivananda says. It was possible for other yogis in one lifetime. It may be our destiny too- we will never know if we don't try.

Om Namo Narayanaya.  Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

P.S. 
6.5.2016:
I was reading the autobiography of Sivananda (available free online on the Divine Life Society website) recently. I was under the impression that he did japa standing hip deep in the Ganga for 12 hours a day for 12 years non-stop before he got the Darshan of Sri Krishna. It appears I was wrong. He did indeed do this sadhana of doing japa standing hip-deep in the water for hours at a time, but he combined this with a very active element of service to society as a manifestation of God. He set up a free dispensary and found time to treat sick people (was a doctor before he became a monk) and did this during much of the 12 year sadhana period. He also spent time daily in study of spiritual books such as the Gita and Upanisads, and also from time to time, visited Mahatmas to obtain their blessings. In his autobiography, he writes that japa and karma yoga must be combined for genuine spiritual progress. He advises years of hard work in service of society alongside japa as absolutely essential ingredients for spiritual progress as this purifies the mind and develops noble qualities such as compassion, patience etc.

I have sometimes thought to myself that my medical work interferes with my ability to do hours and hours of japa, and have at times been slightly despondent that I do not have the capacity to do 10-12 hours of japa a day at present. I wondered if I was doing enough to make some decent progress in this life.

As per his autobiography, Gurudev took renunciation in Rishikesh in 1924 aged around 36 years after giving up his medical career abroad. He then went on a pilgrimage in 1925 and mentions another one in 1931. So he was clearly not doing 12 hours japa every day standing in the Ganga in Rishikesh for 12 years as he was going on pilgrimages etc-  though he was most likely doing this mentally all the time/for many hours a day. Between 1926 and 1930, there is no mention of any travel etc- I assume during this time he remained in his kutir in Rishikesh doing intense tapas. He is said to have attained God somewhere between 1924-1934 before starting the DLS in 1936.

Anyway, this gives me some encouragement that I'm on the right path, and that my medical career is not an obstacle but rather a help, and doing japa while immersed in external activity can still be a means to God. One has to keep reminding oneself again and again and keep the self-doubts at bay.

Also it is useful to remind oneself that spiritual life is a marathon. Not a sprint. One needs endurance, perseverance, self-belief, grit, discipline, determination and training to successfully run a marathon. One needs similar mental stamina to keep running the spiritual marathon. One should also never be tempted to wildly start sprinting fast in a marathon- that will result in prematurely burning up all one's energy and will prevent one from being able to complete the run. Pacing oneself is vital to ensure one completes the marathon.
 Similarly one should never impulsively try to do insane amounts of meditation/japa for several hours a day without careful thought and planning- if one can do this comfortably then well and good, but excessive strain and tension is not at all good- one does not want to burn out and stop altogether.

One cannot stop during a marathon, one has to keep running, even if slowly at times, and faster at other times. Because if you stop you lose momentum and it's harder to start again. Same thing with spiritual sadhana- at times one may do a lot and intensely, at other times one may slow down and do less, but every day one needs to do something- some japa, some meditation etc- one simply has to keep running until one reaches the destination.

Hari Aum Tat Sat