Sri Ramakrishna On The Need For Solitude-Continued

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A secluded spot is essential even for daily meditation and worship. Sri Ramakrishna says that one should meditate in a corner, or in the forest, or in the mind. These help the mind to be easily concentrated. 'In the corner means a private secluded spot. In the forest means a solitary spot away from the noise of men and cities, as for example in the Himalayas, or on the bank of holy rivers like the Ganga, or in a pure and healthy atmosphere amidst the beauties of nature. Advantages of solitude Abhyasa and Vairagya, ie practice and dispassion, are the two pillars of spiritual life and it is evident from the foregoing that both are greatly helped by solitude.

It may be argued that the spirit of renunciation and dispassion are the qualities of mind and have nothing to do with the mode of life. One may be completely detached even while living in the world, while someone else may have strong attachments even though he may be living a life of solitude in the forest or a cave. But the fact is that for a sincere spiritual seeker, solitude is definitely a great help in cultivating the spirit of detachment and dispassion.

In solitude we are forced to be away from the objects of our attachment and psychological dependence. None of our relatives, friends and foes, with whom we relate ourselves with love or hatred, are there. Solitude thus gives us an opportunity to live without those on whom we depend or who depend on us. In our ignorance and folly we think that we cannot live without this or that thing person or activity, or that such and such a person cannot live without us. Such solitary retreats help in destroying this false notion. After the period of retreat we realise that neither we nor others have suffered much by this separation. We learn that none is indispensable. We find that in our absence the world does not go to pieces or come to a standstill. Our false sense of self importance, our impure ego, thus gets the much needed blow.

During such retreats into solitude, we do not engage in our accustomed activities. This helps in breaking the automation into which we are often liable to fall due to our routine lives. There are no newspaper, radio, TV, and visitors to bring to us the gossip of the world. Living in solitude thus prevents the worldly and extrovert tendency of the mind from becoming deep rooted and helps to turn the mind inward.