To join an Ashram or not?

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Harsha: I am forwarding part of a letter and my response to it from another

list. It is a topic that often comes up in spiritual circles. How does one

in a practical manner go about attaining the goal of life?

 

Gary wrote: Hello Allan and everyone on this list,

 

Help! I need help!

 

Part of me is sensible and says I need to stay here and work and get a

business going and earn some more money. Then the other part of me says go

away and foucus entirely on thyself...sort of like "Seek first the kingdom

of God." This part is drawing me to live in a ashram for at least a short

period of time like two years maybe. But the logical side of me says "Hey

and then what?... How would I be able to integreat back into the work place

afterwards? It would be tough to start over from square

one".................snip

 

 

Hello Gary

 

I trained to enter monkhood for several years around 21 years ago (after I

graduated from college). As destiny would have it, my parents wished for me

to lead a normal life style. And my teacher withdrew his permission in as

gentle a way as he could. I had been a philosophy major and so did not have

any practical skills to earn money. It took some years for me to reorient

myself to a worldly life. My feeling is that joining a spiritual community

is not as important as having the right mental atmosphere for attaining

Self-Realization. Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Self-Enquiry and Yoga

with complete dedication, even for a few years, will set a strong foundation

for the rest of your life. Ultimately it all depends not on where you live

but How you live and Who you are. Best wishes and God bless you.

 

Harsha