We must rouse a tremendous divine discontent, the discontent the mystics of all ages speak of. Unless we are able to rouse in the soul this divine discontent which can destroy all our attachments to worldly things and desires, we will not be able to get real yearning for spiritual realization. There can never be any real peace in the world, though we must play our part in it as best we can. There must never be any kind of slackness in our striving nor any kind of satisfaction with our state of bondage. Such forms of satisfaction are very dangerous for all spiritual aspirants. We must consciously keep burning the fire of hankering and yearning for the higher life. We must never waste our energies for anything lower. We must never prefer the peace of lethargy to this restlessness for spiritual achievement.
There can be no security unless we have already proceeded very far towards the ultimate goal. Any devotee may come to grief or have a nasty fall at any moment before he has attained to self-realization. So we should never risk to much relying on our own strength before having advanced considerably.
Spiritual practice and prayer must be intensified. Constant prayer, day and night, constant meditation, constant thinking of higher thoughts would do us immense good. The mind of the beginner must be kept constantly busy with divine ideas so as to create the habit. After having created the right habit the path becomes smoother, and there is less strain in the life of the spiritual aspirant.
We must give our whole mind to God, not merely a bit of it. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ‘If I want to buy a piece of cloth worth one rupee, I will have to pay one rupee and not one paisa less. Otherwise I shall not get it.’ So also in spiritual life, if you don’t pay full attention, you simply don’t get anything. If after practicing meditation perfunctorily for a few months or even years, you find that you have got nothing spiritually, you have nobody else to blame.
What we need is perseverance. There must be steady, regular practice. Let us rather die in the struggle to keep our body and mind pure than give it up. What does it matter even if we die? What matters is that we realize the Truth, that we attain our full stature, our utmost, we will have fulfilled our duty. Then the rest must be left to the Divine, Here true self-surrender and resignation to the Lord have their place.
The man who has intelligence for his charioteer and the well-controlled mind for reins, attains the end of the journey, that supreme abode of the Divine’, says the Katha Upanisad. We should never be contented or satisfied with ourselves and think we have done our best. It may have been our best for the time being, but we should pray to the Divine for greater and greater strength to be able to do more. Today I may be able to lift only ten pounds, but I can ask for the strength to lift a hundred pounds. My capacity can be increased, even if I think I have already done my best and I am doing my best, because this ‘best’ is not a fixed quantity.
Swami Yatiswarananda A monk from Ramakrishna monastic
Collected from a compiled book
There can be no security unless we have already proceeded very far towards the ultimate goal. Any devotee may come to grief or have a nasty fall at any moment before he has attained to self-realization. So we should never risk to much relying on our own strength before having advanced considerably.
Spiritual practice and prayer must be intensified. Constant prayer, day and night, constant meditation, constant thinking of higher thoughts would do us immense good. The mind of the beginner must be kept constantly busy with divine ideas so as to create the habit. After having created the right habit the path becomes smoother, and there is less strain in the life of the spiritual aspirant.
We must give our whole mind to God, not merely a bit of it. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ‘If I want to buy a piece of cloth worth one rupee, I will have to pay one rupee and not one paisa less. Otherwise I shall not get it.’ So also in spiritual life, if you don’t pay full attention, you simply don’t get anything. If after practicing meditation perfunctorily for a few months or even years, you find that you have got nothing spiritually, you have nobody else to blame.
What we need is perseverance. There must be steady, regular practice. Let us rather die in the struggle to keep our body and mind pure than give it up. What does it matter even if we die? What matters is that we realize the Truth, that we attain our full stature, our utmost, we will have fulfilled our duty. Then the rest must be left to the Divine, Here true self-surrender and resignation to the Lord have their place.
The man who has intelligence for his charioteer and the well-controlled mind for reins, attains the end of the journey, that supreme abode of the Divine’, says the Katha Upanisad. We should never be contented or satisfied with ourselves and think we have done our best. It may have been our best for the time being, but we should pray to the Divine for greater and greater strength to be able to do more. Today I may be able to lift only ten pounds, but I can ask for the strength to lift a hundred pounds. My capacity can be increased, even if I think I have already done my best and I am doing my best, because this ‘best’ is not a fixed quantity.
Swami Yatiswarananda A monk from Ramakrishna monastic
Collected from a compiled book
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