The Path

The spiritual path is very hard, and often it can seem almost too ambitious, almost futile. All I can say is, if anyone cultivates an attitude of 'never give up', help always arrives in the nick of time. SwamiJ has a nice phrase (you can search it on his website to find the context) that became a mantra for me for a short time 'never give up, always let go'. This seemingly contradictory phrase can carry you through the 'dark nights of the soul'. Essentially, the sAdhaka never gives up trying for moksha, and yet at every point one has to let go of everything mentally. Along the way, the hardest thing to find is constant inspiration. Any determined sAdhaka who has felt the need for it can somehow dig it out of websites, books, teachings, etc. It is undoubtedly difficult, but it can be done. As you know, if anything, the message I have wanted to convey to anyone who wanted to listen, is that Self-realization is an achievable goal for householders in this day and age.

A slight variant of the anecdote of the diamond that the servant went to sell for the master can be helpful here. If one wants to own a very expensive diamond, the first step is to know what a genuine diamond looks like, how much it weighs etc. Then of course, one has to raise the capital to buy the diamond, but without knowing the genuine article, one can cheated by a piece of ordinary glass. Once you have recognized the diamond and started raising the capital, it is also good to take stock of all the capital already raised. Reflecting on your own progress is a useful and inspiring exercise. Without being complacent, it is useful to see how far a little practice leads one, and then one can take stock of the future. Often times one may be closer than one thinks. However, the nature of sAdhanA is that God will lend a hand, and will take 10 steps for each one you take towards Him, but it is also true that until the sAdhaka pays down the entire capital, Grace will not descend. So it is a peculiar balance between putting in full effort, and surrendering the mere self. That last lap is probably best done at a time when one has few commitments, but one can prepare for it even 10 or 15 years ahead of time. The final assault is like going for the Olympic gold, but as you know those athletes practice for years in advance. Keeping that long term goal in mind, but acknowledging and gaining confidence from current progress, while keeping the appetite whetted for shorter term goals is the best path for sAdhakas.