Follow The Right Path: Begin From The Beginning

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Again the Master said, `One must follow the right path.' Suppose I am

thrown in the wilderness. If I follow one path, what happens? I enter

the wilderness more and more. If I follow another path, I come out of

it. I am reminded of an American story. A motorist was driving at

break-neck speed. He wanted to reach a certain place. He asked a

schoolboy who had studied a little geography: `My son, if I go this

way, shall I be able to reach the place?' `Yes Sir,' said the boy,

`You will reach it.' `How far is it this way?' asked the motorist.

`Sir, you will have to go 25,000 miles,' replied the boy. `If I go

the other way?' `Then only two miles' was the answer. Do you follow

the idea? By one path, you have to come round the world to reach the

place. If you go the other way just two miles. Through proper mood,

through proper attitude, if you follow the proper directions you

reach the goal soon, progress is quickened. A tremendous change takes

place within you. But don't try to quicken your steps too much. Go

slow, but with determination, along the right path. Gradually you

shall reach the highest truth. But, as I said in that illustration of

climbing the snow-capped mountain, proceed step by step.

 

So in our spiritual practice, first comes `Pratima Puja', i.e.

worshipping the Lord in some aspect with the help of a form, a

symbol, a picture, or an image. Next, the repetition of the Lord's

Name, thinking of Him and singing of His glory. Later on as I said,

the mind gets a little absorbed; you feel the Divine presence. That

is Dhyana, and Dhyana leads to the highest goal, the highest

realisation. In order to move, we should proceed step by step. So the

Master says, `Go forward, step by step; from the sandalwood, come to

the silver mine, come to the gold mine and then come to the diamond

mine'. Similarly, if we sincerely follow the spiritual path and begin

from the beginning, we will reach the Truth. But, if we begin from

the end, we reach nowhere. Some want to practise Advaita sadhana. I

tell them, `I know nothing of Advaita sadhana: go to some other

teacher.' But if you want to begin from the beginning, I can tell you

something of it.

 

So, first of all, begin with the form-aspect. I have body

consciousness, I am an embodied being. I am a person amongst persons.

How can I think of the Infinite Spirit? I can't. So let me begin as

Maruti said. Hanuman was asked by Sri Rama `How do you think of Me?'

Hanuman said: `Lord, when I consider myself as a personality, as an

embodied being, I think of myself as Your servant and You as my

Master; and Lord, when I think, I am a soul distinct from the body

and mind, I consider myself as a part and You as the whole. But at

other moments, my Lord, when I rise above all limitations I think You

are myself and I am Thyself.' So let us begin from the beginning.

 

- Swami Yatiswarananda

 

To be continued...