Why religious practices are ignored?

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WHY RELIGIOUS PRACTICES ARE IGNORED?

-Jayadayal Goyandka

Every intelligent person can, if he considers the problem, realize that through

the attainment of birth as a human being, some exceptional gain must accrue to

us. Food, drink, sleep, the joy of procreation and other forms of worldly

enjoyment can be gained even in lower forms of life like that of beasts and

insects. If the life of a human being is wasted only in the attainment of this

joy, what do we achieve through the human birth? The supreme goal of human life

is to gain that incomparable and true happiness, the like of which there is

nothing in the world. The happiness is ‘God Realization.’

But although this is so, regarding the possession of wealth, women, children and

other form of sense-enjoyment only as supreme happiness, the majority of people

remain infatuated with them. Dutiful men who strive for real happiness are met

few and far between.

The Lord said: "Of thousands of men some rare soul strives to realize Me; of

those striving Yogis, again some rare one (devoting himself exclusively to Me)

Knowing Me in reality." (Gita VII. 3)

According to this statement of the Lord, nowadays also among the few, who strive

for the attainment of true happiness, scarcely any climbs up to the final storey

of achievement. The majority of Sadhakas stop after pursuing a little practice.

They cannot, therefore, raise themselves to a superior spiritual level. To my

understanding, the following may be the cause of their lack of success: -

Qualified propagators of this teaching are very few in the world. For men of

renunciation, learning, and right conduct, capable of hard labour, and true

saints alone can be the propagators of this teaching.

Being satisfied with slight improvements Sadhakas do not feel any need for great spiritual efforts.

Some Sadhakas get tired after pursuing a little amount of practice. they find

themselves at their wit’s end considering their discipline to be of no

particular benefit to them.

People generally lack faith in the attainment of true happiness, for as in

sense-enjoyments, pleasure is not experienced in the initial stages of the

spiritual practice. This contributes to lack of diligence in the practice.

Some people regard the attainment of this happiness as beyond their power, and

therefore remain sunk in despair.

Besides these, some other causes also may be mentioned but among them all,

ignorance of lack of diligence alone is the primary cause. Man should,

therefore, devote himself to the performance of his duty with care and

diligence.