How to Handle Obstacles !!

[Guest guest]

Tks dear SVCS, evil_dijinia and respected Sapt

Matraka for such wise exploration of the topic.<br><br>

Dear Matraka7 you very wisely explained obstacles

speacially when you wrote<br><br> "There are some lessons

each of has to learn in the school of life before we

can progress. Each person will be given experiences

(which we perceive as obstacles) that will precisely

teach the required lesson". This was a great statement

and explained the real purpose behind

obstacles.<br><br> Obstacles are mainly of 3 types, Adhibhautik

(generated from illness etc. of the mind and body),

Adhibutik (those presented by other living being animals or

other humans troublings us) or AdhiDaivik (those coming

from Universe, like flood, cold, heat,earthquake

etc)....the obstacles created by these faculties attack us

and take us away from our path, by creating

confusions, unrest and dissatisfication from our

sadhna.<br><br> Human being is a strange unity of Mind, Ego Soul

and Universal energies. and all the faculties wish to

fulfil their demands through our body, thus creating a

chaos and putting all these organs into controversies

and fights. We have a mind which has to control

millions of cells and hundreds of body actions and has to

tackle some billions of thoughts in a life time. Also it

has to react to the outside attacks by other

bodies/universal system.<br><br> And when we start our sadhna, a

process to produce resonance among all the energies

presenting their demands, they become more furious and

attack with double the force.<br><br> This process,

though necessary for our progress as Matrka said, yet it

tries to take us away from the path and the

destination. (though some schools of thought say, this too is

sadhna-but the present Matrix of Mind-ego-body does not

resonate with this opposition and shows its displeasure as

illness, or mental imbalance). we put blame of obstacles

on our Karma, our environment or on some person and

create another obstacle for us.<br><br> How best we can

handle this chaos. What should we do when we face an

obstacle ? I am sure repenting on our Past Karma, or

blaming god of luck, or abusing the other person

responsible for our plight, will be too childish (and which

most of us do), <br><br>How do we persuade our mind to

understand the real nature of the obstacles so that it does

not react violently and stop it from going out of

control.<br><br> Reading books and getting satisfied that we know

the Truth is one thing....and facing obstacles in

real life and handling them is altogether different.

Certainly our knowledge of books and our intellectual

superiority is not going to help in the Mahabharata going on

in our self throughout our life. Sadhna is not

sitting in a pose for 1 hour in the morning doing japa or

Pranayama and then behave strangely thoughout the

day...sadhna is our whole life.<br><br> Who will be our

Krishna in this Mahabharata who will dispel our doubts

and remove confusions? <br><br>Hari Aum

[Guest guest]

Mathematics is a systems of numerical

difficulties. Each problem however sets up another answer. The

difficulty can be seen as an obstacle, however, the level of

adroitness obtained through the process itself of

surmounting math problems is also the goal for

mathematicians. <br><br>In Tibetan Buddhism Tantras one uses the

goal as the vehicle by imagining Buddha's qualities as

your own. Finally though, when using the goal as the

path, when one merges in unity, one relishes obstacles

because they stretch our conception of life. Moreover,

everything relative changes and it is the nature of life to

ceaselessly try to surmount all that stands in the way of

happiness. If one learns love and compassion from ones own

obstacles and then learns to help remove other's obstacles

then one is Bodhisattva. <br><br>In fact, some deities

remove obstacles. Chanting Om Gum Ganapatiyei Namaha

removes obstacles.<br><br>Some objects get rid of

obstacles. Sphatik 3 tiered Shree Yantras in the entrance to

your house gets rid of bad chi. Rudraksha remove

mental and physical samskaras. I recommend keeping

lingas and rr beads for removal of obstacles.

<br><br>Enough theory. My greatest personal obstacle is boredom

and spiritual dryness. My way to surmount is to work

hard at my job which is totally unrelated to my sadhna

and then I start to miss it and it takes on new

attractiveness. That's how I surmount. It's not easy but its

difficulty brings me peace when the day is done because I

didn't shirk. Then I don't shirk from God during sadhna

or from my sins. <br><br>For those feeling beset

upon by all sides, take a long warm bath and imagine

filling the water with your deity and then immersing in

your deity's qualities until you feel spiritually as

well as physically relaxed. Consider that you may

initiate yourself in this manner by batptising yourself

into higher light. Water is the source of life and

seventy percent of the Earth's surface and of your body

is water. Most initiation comes through water.

Bathing is an ancient way to ready oneself for opening up

to being. <br><br>Great subject would like more

experiences to learn from. <br><br>Thanks everyone for your

insights.

[Guest guest]

I thank matrka7 and all the others who have

contributed to this discussion so sincerely. Here are some of

mine. <br><br>Laziness or lack of motivation is often

cited as a common obstacle to sadhna. While laziness

may be a reflection of “Tamas” in a sadhak it may be

dealt with by addressing its underlying issues.

<br><br>1.Unclear, unrealistic or unattainable goals. – Clarity

about one’s goals goes a long way in its attainment.

One may need to revisit one’s goals. One needs to

make small goals, remembering that one learns through

baby steps. Perhaps one is trying to live by

idealistic goals, which may not be attainable immediately,

or those who are perfectionist by nature, may want

to live by the ideal goals of perfection. One cannot

forget that understanding a concept doesn’t immediately

translate into “knowing” and it takes time for the heart to

act according to the principles. Furthermore, one has

to complete ones karmic dues, before one can move

on. <br><br>2. Impatience - setting the clock; with

respect to eternity. One may have unrealistic

expectations about when one’s goal may be met. We may need to

give up our post-industrial concepts of time, effort,

and relationship between effort and attainment of

goals. <br><br>3. Expectations – Expectations tend to be

a root cause of emotions, and if one is expecting

unrealistic fruits from one’s efforts, the likely result is

failure, further reducing motivation. <br><br>4.

Attachments – A common problem is attachment to results of

the sadhna. In fact one can attached to either the

tools of one’s path or one’s goals. Perhaps the only

attachment, which doesn’t get in the way, at least until the

final stages is that to “God” - TRUTH. Attachment leads

to increased expectation of results, and attention

and energy is spent more on the fruits rather than

the process, which may become flawed as a result. In

fact, too much energy placed on any goal, tends to

overwhelm it and become an obstacle to its attainment.

<br><br>4. Process – Practice may just be harsher than one

may expect it to be. The “anything goes” culture of

new-age interest in spiritual practice may lead to an

unrealistic expectation of what sadhna is. Of course

“harshness” is a judgment, which in itself may need to be

given up. <br><br>5. Karma – Our respected member

Levitatingsaint suggested relatives and family members may be a

distraction, or obstacle to one’s sadhna too. I have requested

him to share his thoughts on it; meanwhile all I can

say again is that no one can bypass one’s karma – be

it family, wealth, or health. If Karmic obligations

towards one’s family needs to be fulfilled, then those

have to be met first or at least simultaneously. I

know of some very advanced sadhaks who were in fact

forced by their Gurus to go back to their family and

fulfill their obligations. If one could leave the rigors

of one’s karmic obligations and “run away” to the

apparently safer path of spiritual practice, it would

certainly be a great escape, but I don’t believe that is

possible. We have to start where we are, and if something

appears to be a great problem then that is probably where

our biggest lessons lie. Someday or the other we have

to work it out. <br><br>--cont'd

[Guest guest]

6. Forgiveness – Perfectionists have this habit

of setting themselves up for a fall by attempting to

achieve idealistic goals. And when they do, they get

upset with themselves for doing so. Forgiving oneself

is imperative to be able to move on successfully

with one’s practice, otherwise one remains getting

stuck in the past in what is perceived as

failures.<br><br>7. Faith, submission to "God"- Truth – One may need

to revisit one faith in the practice and what they

are trying to achieve. No matter what the path maybe,

one may need to revisit one’s faith in the process.

Bhaktas may need to truly “leave their problems at the

altar”, and understand that “God” has HIS own pace and

manner as to how HE gives HIS blessings. Others may need

to reaffirm their faith in the Truth, and its path.

One may be working out one’s karmic obligations,

which may veil any gains made in one’s

sadhna.<br><br>The most important aspect of sadhna is practice. I am

reminded of an incident with a swamini I respected a whole

lot. Swamini Sarvapriyananda, of Chimayananda Mission,

who left her body a few years ago, used to bless a

small group of us with her presence, almost every year

for a whole week of lectures and training sessions.

After one lecture on a chapter from the Bhagwad Gita,

she asked the audience for their questions. She used

to answer most of my questions in private so I

remained quiet. When almost no one responded, she said to

the audience. “Every year I come and give you

lectures and you say ‘Amma, it was so beautiful, what a

great lecture it was!’ But do you put anything to

practice? For I know, only when one puts this knowledge to

practice does one have more doubts which in turn leads to

more questions!!!!” Amma, as we used to lovingly call

her, was as blunt as her Guru, Swami Chinmayananda;

she spared no words to get her point across.

<br><br>Again, I am grateful to those who have shared some of

their journey and lessons with us in our satsangh.

Please continue to do so. <br><br>_/\_ Tat twam

asi<br><br>Uma

[Guest guest]

Many of us feel it's difficult to carry on with

sadhna while living with our family in this modern age .

The following is an answer given by Ramana Maharshi

when a devotee asks him on a grihasta's

(householder's) chance for Moksha (Liberation).<br><br>Q. How

does a grihasta fare in the scheme of

Moksha?<br><br>A. Why do you think yourself to be a grihasta? If

you go out as a sannyasi (renounced sage), the

thought that you are a sannyasi will haunt you. You will

be only substituting one thought by another. The

mental obstacles are always there. They even increase in

new surroundings. There is no help in the change of

environment. The mind is the obstacle. Therefore why change

the

environment.<br><br>------------------------<br><br>Solitude is in the mind. One

may be in the thick of the

world and maintain serenity of mind : such an one is in

solitude. Another may be in a forest, but still unable to

control his mind. He cannot be said to be in solitude. A

man attached to desires cannot get solitude wherever

he may be. A detached man is always in solitude.

<br><br>Hari Aum !!!

[Guest guest]

Blessed Self, Uma<br><br>Your posts on laziness

or lack of motivation are excellent.<br><br>From my

point of view, there are 4 main, closely-related

obstacles to spiritual attainment: DEPRESSION, DOUBT, FEAR,

and CONCEIT/COMPLACENCY. These can all be overcome by

applying discrimination, detachment, positive thinking, a

quiet will, and faith to profound thought.<br><br>The

spiritual journey is a journey into the unknown and many

people are not comfortable with leaving behind the

familiar, even thought it causes pain and dislocation, to

enter a world where they are unfamiliar with the ground

rules. Also, people are afraid of not being able to

return to their normal lives.<br><br>There are many

phenomena that may be encountered on the spiritual journey

such as visions, enhanced paranormal abilities and

other siddhis that transcend all that is known by the

scientific community. These can be a fertile ground for fear

and conceit to arise.<br><br>Conversely, nothing

different may be apparent. This is usually the result of

attempting to overcontrol the process. Again, an example of

fear or of conceit.<br><br>Or, the spiritual journey

may be seen as difficult with little initial result

so that the aspirant allows their doubts to

grow.<br><br>Discrimination and detachment are essential if one is to

continue the spiritual journey. Whatever the content of

the journey, there is still more work to be done.

<br><br>To continue the journey one needs to develop

positive thinking, which to me includes <br><br>1.

foregiveness (of oneself as well as others) as you mentioned;

<br><br>2. acceptance, discrimination and detachment, or

equinimity; <br><br>3. dedication to service (performing your

tasks not for the rewards you expect to receive but to

provide a benefit or service to others), and <br><br>4.

constant, rigorous and pervasive application of a

moral-ethical system to one's thoughts, words and actions of

daily life. This application is towards oneself rather

than others. Toward others, one must apply compassion

and understanding with no expectations.<br><br>Faith

in God and Guru is essential. In those times when

the journey seems too difficult, it is useful for the

aspirant to remember that hundreds of thousands of people

over thousands of years have successfully travelled

the same road that you are on. They faced the same

challenges and felt the same inspirations. Be one with

them.<br><br>Om namah Sivaya<br><br>omprem

[Guest guest]

wonderful explanations

[Guest guest]

Thanks OMprem, for sincerely sharing your

presence in our satsangh. Your post as, usual, is filled

with clarity and wisdom.<br><br>To continue this

topic, I ask another question to our members. A dear

friend mentioned the term "obsession", which got me

thinking whether that can become an obstacle to our

spiritual growth.<br><br>How can obsession be an obstacle,

and when is it a tool for growth? I would think being

obsessed with God realization would be a great boost,

isn't it?<br><br>What are your thoughts? Matrka,

vaishnawara, sankarukku ... where is everyone?<br><br>_/\_ Tat

twam asi<br><br>Uma

[Guest guest]

If I may, sometimes Obsessions can lead to tunnel vision and then what you get

is a lost soul. They can not be loyal in heart if they are obsessed in

mind...<br><br>Jackie...

[Guest guest]

Yes yes, "tunnel vision" is the

word.<br><br>Looking at it from that perspective I guess we can get

obsessive about the path, the school, the Guru, where the

"tools" itself become the goal. <br><br>I wonder how can

one tell whether one's action is obsession or pure

love and committment? <br><br>_/\_<br><br>Uma

[Guest guest]

When one's actions are that of pure love and

commitment, no thought is given to the reward of the action.

It is done, with no thought....<br>When one is

obsessed, it appears that that one is more obsessed with

the results of the action, the validation of the

action or peers. Ego is still at play in that case.

<br>in love, mirabai

[Guest guest]

Blessed Self, mirabai<br><br>Actions of love and

commitment to God are indeed prompted by concern, compassion

and interest in others with no thought of personal

reward.<br><br>And yes the actions of the obsessed are obsessed with

the personal results of the action. <br><br>But it is

very difficult to distinguish when one's actions are

self-interested or not, when ego is present or not.This requires

a rigorous commitment to self-analysis with the

strength and ability to be fearlessly honest with oneself

about oneself. This is can only be accomplished through

many years of practice in everyday situations so that

one gains experience with how one's mind works plus

sadhana to change and elevate how the mind works. All

this, in turn, requires faith in God, Guru and the

eight limbs of yoga as put forth by Patanjali. It

requires an intuitive sense that one is more than their

body, thoughts, and emotions. It requires the

development of vairagya and viveka. It requires patience,

hard work and constant attention and effort.

<br><br>If one can be open to the validity of other

approaches to Self-realization, to the idea that one's own

interpretations might occassinally be in error, that someone

else's Guru is also valid, that one actually knows very

little and still remain serene, humble and

uncompetitive, then one may have an inkling that they might,

just might, be not too obsessive and might indeed be

somewhat altruistic and compassionate in one's actions.

<br><br>Stilling the ego is a neverending job that is always open

to evaluation and reevaluation.<br><br>Om namah

Sivaya<br><br>omprem

[Guest guest]

Is 'obsession' a tool for growth or an

obstacle?<br><br>I would say that it is definitely a tool for growth

- obsession with god realization.<br><br>In the

early stages of sadhana, it is this obsession, which is

the driving force, which carries one through the

teething problems. It makes us immune to the reactions of

others around us. Before we become properly established

in the chosen path, it is this obsession that keeps

us going.<br>If we had a mind that is 'clear and

calm, pure and subtle', then we have already achieved

some thing, our sadhana is advanced enough to have got

us there.<br>Obsession is a great driving force,

which quickens success and achievement.<br>The great

sages were all obsessed. That is why almost all of them

seemed odd. They appeared crazy because they were

God-crazy. They were besotted with the thought of

God.<br><br>St.Francis of Assisi cried out to God, 'Why tomorrow' Why

not today, why not NOW? '- (God-realization) He was

so impatient. Sri Ramakrishna has forsaken food and

sleep for months that a yogi used to sometimes beat him

with a stick and force-feed a few morsels of

food.<br><br>I believe that when a person takes up serious

sadhana with the view of God-realization, he no longer

fits into the mainstream of society. His norms are

different, his perceptions and reactions are different, and

he no longer CARES for any thing else other than his

goal, and if this is not 'obsession', then what

is?<br><br>And if it is not so, then it is only a half-hearted

attempt at sadhana.<br><br>Every thing else becomes

secondary, tertiary, or of absolutely no consequence. This

is the only way to success in sadhana. (Are not the

great ' achievers in all fields- sports, music,

academics- similarly obsessed?) <br><br>Swami Sivananda has

said that a dacoit has a very good chance of

succeeding in sadhana (because of his courage,

determination, willingness to face any obstacle or consequence)

than a weak-minded conservative meek person.<br><br>So

I am all for obsession. Throw to the winds all

cares, social or other constraints, the desire to appear

normal or calm and collected - nothing matters except

God-realization. Foolish? Yes, I would rather be God's Fool.

Crazy? Yes, I AM God-crazy.<br><br>Jai

Mahamaya!<br><br>Matrka7

[Guest guest]

Dearest OmPrem was answering my post and his

words helped me a great deal. You however, *sigh* I

dont understand the sarcasm, the harsh attack, the

NEED to post what you have. Is this bliss? I think

not.....please, be kind to others, in here, and "out there". in

love, mirabai