From Theory to Practice-Part III

Sri Ramakrishna

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By Staff

Friday, July 31, 2009, 14:51

Laziness and Complacent Attitude: Oftentimes it is sheer laziness that causes this state of affairs. Overpowered by Tamas, the quality of inertia and indifference (refer Gita, XIV.8), we just do not strive to do something with regard to what we preach to others. It looks too much to rise up and face the challenge squarely. Complacent like the proverbial buffalo, we remain satisfied with mere preaching or feel no urgency to check our life for any possibility for improvement. We place ourselves on the platform of 'No change required for me'. The fact, however, is generally far from our assumptions.

There is, however, no substitute to practice.

Swamiji held that the aim of religion is to manifest the inherent divinity by controlling our twofold nature (external and internal). Controlling means practising, making efforts, striving hard to let the inner light express itself in our life. This requires practice. Practice has one more meaning: repetition. A musician, for instance, practises the same melody or composition several times before he masters it. So also in spiritual life, same practices are done over again to obtain the promised results. In the realm of perfection, no dabbling is permitted. Be it playing football or playing piano or doing one's spiritual practices, one has to work hard. A mere curious hands-on experience would be of no avail.

Once after a particularly brilliant concert, Beethoven, the great Western classical musician, was in the centre of congratulating friends and admirers who praised his piano magic. One unusually enthusiastic woman exclaimed: 'Oh, sir, if only God had given me this gift of your genius.' 'It is not genius, madam,' replied Beethoven, 'Nor magic. All you have to do is to practise on your piano eight hours a day for forty years and you will be as good as I am.' Similarly, Sri Ramakrishna was once taken to a circus, where he saw an English woman's feat on a running horse. He later said, 'The other day, at the circus, I saw a horse running at top speed, with an English woman standing on one foot on its back. How much she must have practised to acquire that skill!' (Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 182)

Spiritual practices loosen our inner fetters. It is like the patient chiselling of a piece of stone by a sculptor. Unmindful of rest, food and sleep, he goes on hitting at the same spot, again and again, until the image of God hidden in the stone emerges out. All spiritual giants the world has seen had only one purpose for their advent—how to make religion more practicable. They do so not just through their teachings but by living what they preach.

Practice also has an eternal companion—dispassion. Practice has to be accompanied by dispassion. Together these twin companions bring success in spiritual life. Practice means doing and dispassion means clearing the obstacles. Practice when not accompanied by dispassion become ineffective, like rowing an anchored boat. Joined with dispassion, practice takes ahead the aspirants with speed, safety and surety.

Spiritual practice means practising those techniques and following such a life-style as would lead to the purification of mind. Mind becomes pure through practice. One has to practise meditation, practise prayer, practise self-control, practise moral discipline—in short, practice is the secret of success.
To sum up, practising spiritual disciplines is what makes us religious—not mere intellectual acceptance of a dogma. We would be nearer to God only through practice, and not by mere talking about it. We have to get rid of the false notion of setting 'others' right, calm down the mind, be willing to pay the price for what we want, and overcome our laziness and complacency, in order to carry on spiritual disciplines.

What is required is a pure mind, fit for spiritual realization and that is what religion should aim at. For, as Swamiji said, 'one man who has purified himself thoroughly accomplishes more than a regiment of preachers.' Ultimately the choice is ours—to be mere preachers or practitioners

About the author

Swami Atmashraddananda

Swami Atmashraddhananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and editor of The Vedanta Kesari from the year 2004 .

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