Become a Seeker

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Dear Saadhaks,

 

 

Become a Seeker (Saadhaka) Childhood is wasted in ignorance; youth is wasted in lusting after pleasures; and the rest of one's life is spent in family worries. What does a stupid person achieve in this life. Even if one performs great religious rites, one may go to heaven; nothing more. When a person starts feeling: " I have enjoyed and suffered all kinds of experiences. Now I shall rest. I shall not grieve any more. I have been awakened. I shall slay this thief (the mind) who has stolen my wisdom. I have been well instructed by the sages now and I shall seek Self-knowledge." - then he is ready to become a seeker. How to make a person prepared ? (Upaasana)First there must be an intention to walk in the spiritual path. This intention is in the form of a thought; it is a decision, which has to be made by the physical mind. An intention to go into spiritualism is an emotion. We do not know whether it is a right emotion or a wrong emotion. When a person understands the meaning of the word 'spiritualism' and then has an intention, he understands and makes it right. When he convinces himself that it is right to walk on this path, his intention becomes firm. After this he starts praying. During the prayer he intensifies his intention and confirms and contemplates that it is right. Meanwhile disturbances try to distract him from further progress in spiritualism. He prays constantly so that disturbance should not disturb him. There should not be any break in the prayer because then the other intentions can easily influence the prayer. Everything starts from you. You must have an intention; you must take a decision; you must be firm, you have to pray and then alone you can devote that you want nothing else but this. To have devotion you have to release the ego of attraction towards other matters through your emotion. You have to forcefully remove the attachments of the materialistic world. When you decide to go into devotion it is not necessary that you are extremely good. Devotion only indicates that you are ready to dedicate your self. So far you have only devoted your time, your money and your energy. In whichever form you feel comfortable, you devote. When the devotion becomes very intense and you feel that devotion is perfect (anything is perfect only after total surrender), then you come to the stage of dedication ie. samarpan. Because of devotion you are able to dedicate. After you have surrendered to certain limits there is absolute belief, which is followed by renunciation. From the stage of intention to the stage of dedication, you release a number of egos. When you reach dedication you are still left with one ego - I AM DEDICATING MYSELF FOR GOD. This ego also has to be renounced. When you renounce this ego, the self is renounced. Total merging takes place; jnana comes. The jnana then intensifies into bhakthi. These are the stages in which to proceed for 'Upaasana'.

[amit] Hari Sharnam