PURIFY

[Guest guest]

OM NAMAH SIVAYA

 

PURIFY

 

by Swami Sivananda

 

Spirituality means growing into the form of Divine Ideal. It is the

transformation of your nature from human to Divine. This is brought

about by Abhyasa, i.e., spiritual practice or Sadhana and Vairagya

leading to renunciation.

 

Conscious attempt to merge ourselves in the Supreme Reality is called

spiritual Sadhana, which should be the common aim of all, though the

process may be different.

 

If you wish to evolve quickly, you must have the right kind of

Sadhana. If you are a student of the path of self-reliance, you can

select the Sadhana for your daily practice, yourself. If you are a

student of the path of self-surrender, you should get the right kind

of Sadhana from a Guru and practice it with intense faith.

 

Constant Satsanga with the wise and study of the Srutis under a Guru

will slowly wipe out the wrong and worldly Samskaras.

 

Make intense inner Sadhana the keynote of your life. Base your life

upon the ceaseless remembrance of the Divine consciousness and

constant feeling of His presence.

 

Sadhana is at first mechanical and it is only in the later stages

that it becomes a part and parcel of one's own life. It appears as a

drudgery in the beginning, but later on it imparts joy, peace,

strength, courage and freedom.

 

Do not be slack in you Sadhana. It is Sadhana that will help you in

the long run. It is the only asset in this life.

 

Be regular in your Sadhana-and attain Self-realisation in this very

birth.

 

Never mind repeated failures in your Sadhana. Nil desperandum.

Despair not. Do not give up the struggle or the Sadhana. Stand up and

fight again. Struggle again. You are nearer to success each time.

Every failure is a steppingstone to success. You are sure to succeed

in the long run.

 

Only when you have purified the heart, silenced the mind, stilled the

thoughts and surging emotions, withdrawn the outgoing senses, thinned

out the Vasanas, you can behold the glorious Atman during deep

meditation.

 

The practical method of realising one's divine nature is the complete

transformation of the base animal nature, transcending the human

nature and awakening fully the dormant spiritual traits within.

 

This is done through perfect ethical evolution, self-restraint, self-

analysis, self-purification, concentration, meditation, practice of

selfless love and service to all and systematic inner culture through

right speech and right conduct. This alone is the pathway to Yoga and

inner unfoldment.

 

Never complain against bad environments. Create your own mental world

wherever you remain and wherever you go. Do not try to run away from

bad unfavourable environments. God has placed you there to make you

grow quickly.

 

The world is not a hindrance to your spiritual path. The world is

your Guru. The world is a training school. The world is Virat or

Isvara.

 

Perfect serenity, cultivation of divine virtues, entertaining holy

thoughts, discipline of diet-all these pave the way to success along

spiritual path.

 

Right from the very beginning of your spiritual life, you must

understand clearly that in true humility, sincere desire to root out

gradually pride, egoism and jealousy, earnest and increasing

introspection to find out one's own defects and improve oneself, lies

your hope of progress.

 

The nature of the mind is such that it becomes that which it thinks

upon intensely. Thus if you think of the vices and defects of other

man, your mind will be charged with those defects and vices at least

for the time being. He, who knows this psychological law, will never

indulge in censuring others or in finding faults in the conduct of

others. He will always praise others. He will only see good in

others. That is the way to grow in concentration, Yoga and

spirituality.

 

No man is absolutely bad. Everyone has some good trait or other. Try

to see the good in everyone. Develop the good-finding nature.

 

Examine your character. Pick up some distinct defect in it. Find out

its opposite-let us say that you suffer from irritability. The

opposite of irritability is patience. Meditate on it regularly every

morning for a few minutes taking one aspect of it-such as its value,

its practice under provocation on different days.

 

Choose one virtue for every month and keep it before you as an ideal

to be achieved throughout. Meditate on it morning and evening just

after getting up from bed and just before retiring at night.

 

There is no easy path to salvation except through small improvements,

correction, purity, Japa and celibacy.

 

If you are established in Ahimsa or non-violence, you will never be

harsh, rude and haughty even for a moment. No thought of evil or of

injuring others will ever occur to you, even for a moment. Your heart

will be filled with love, kindness and affection.

 

Not to hurt others is not so difficult as not to be hurt by others.

You will have to become mindless. You will have to kill your egoism

in toto. You will have to develop patience to a maximum degree if you

wish not to be hurt by others.

 

(Source: http://sivanandaonline.org/html/)

 

JAI MA

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Chris. Another gem from Master Sivananda. And just in time, with

Mother's approach to California in just three days!

 

.... thinned out the vasanas was helpful language here...>

 

"Only when you have purified the heart, silenced the mind, stilled the

thoughts and surging emotions, withdrawn the outgoing senses, thinned

out the Vasanas, you can behold the glorious Atman during deep

meditation."