Spiritual Success

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

By Staff

Friday, June 19, 2009, 16:09

The modem world generally accepts quantitative evaluation as measures of prosperity and success. How much have you earned? How much did you save, produce, sell and acquire? Material success depends on how much, how many, or on how often. Spiritual seekers habitually apply the same quantitative measure in estimating their own inner achievements. Automatically they congratulate themselves at the quantity of their" glorious sadhana". However, quantitative measures are false indicators of spiritual progress.

Even in the realms of culture, quantitative measurements can be used, but they are only useful as endorsements to the success recognized through a qualitative self-analysis. It is not how much one reads, but how much one understands, reflects on, and meditates upon that assures success. It is the quality, intensity, sincerity, devotion, understanding, and enthusiasm of the heart, with which one does the sadhana, that will determine the the heights to which the student can rise in his self-mastery.

I have received letters from different sincere seekers who are chronic sufferers from "lack of progress". From their diaries, it is clear that if quantity alone is demanded in sadhana, these seekers have nothing more to do. And yet their experience is that they find themselves exactly where they were three years ago. Indeed, it is a painful disappointment.

The cure for them is easy to prescribe, but perhaps more difficult to practice. What they need is a more sharpened tempo in their spiritual seeking - a quickening of perception, an alertness of the soul, and a warmer ardency in their embrace of the goal. These factors cannot be developed by themselves one at a time. Yet these will already be found within them when their minds gain a deeper harmony:

This occurs as a result of two processes: the negative one of detaching oneself from all dissipating urges (vairagya), and the positive one of gaining a clear picture of the all-satisfying goal and the straight path to it (viveka). Once these qualities are carefully cultivated and fully developed - detachment from the false and discriminative appreciation of the Real - the rest of the pilgrimage becomes pleasant and sure, but in no way easy.

Breaking the Shackles

In the final analysis, Self-unfoldment must come to express itself in our own hearts. As long as it is loaded with its own base urges, motives, plans and schemes, that self-shackled heart cannot “take off" from its fields of sorrows and restlessness into the brilliant cloudless sky of spiritual freedom and cultural ease.

Break the shackles. Make the vehicle lighter. Warm up the engines of meditation through Kirtan (devotional chants) and Japa (repetition of the Lord's name). Know the route from the study of the scriptures and take off. The early obstacles in meditation are unavoidable. As the vehicle gathers speed, the runway stretch slips by and one rises up from one's body concept into the sublime experience. At first it must wing along the lower heights of feelings. Then the meditator climbs into the cloudy altitude of intellectual ideas, and soon it can soar high into the world of cloudless poise, sublime beauty, and brilliant self-mastery. Moral and spiritual joys and balance in ordinary life can come only to those who can thus explore and return from these rejuvenating realms within.

Quantitative calculations will give only false hopes to a spiritual seeker. Try to improve the brilliance. depth and joy of sadhana. May your eyes be on the quality of your life. In all contacts with the world, in all inner feelings and thoughts let there be a constant beauty and peace, serenity and sameness, love and forgiveness. When passions and lust rise do not fall an easy prey to them, but crush them by discrimination and detachment. Success is sure to the sincere.

About the author

Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Chinmayananda the great master's lectures were an outpour of wisdom. He introduced the Geetha Gnana Yagna. He wrote a lot of books on spirituality, commentaries to Vedantic texts, children books etc. He then started spreading His teachings globally.....