In the West, doing and working are more or less synonymous - "I am doing something" means I am working, and the work is supposed to be result-oriented, satisfaction-oriented, growth-oriented. But I don't think in the East we are so self-centred about work. In the Occident, when we talk about growth-orientation and progress-orientation and result-orientation, you work from a self-centred basis. I think in spirituality, the work is from a centred basis - no more self-centred basis, but just centred basis - the centre, the spiritual centre. So when we meditate, when we involve ourselves in spiritual sadhana, spiritual practice, it is certainly a centred practice, and in that sense it is evolutionary - evolution-oriented. But it is not satisfaction-oriented. It is not growth-oriented. Nor is it self-oriented.

"Work while you work, and play while you play." The meaning of the sentence seems to be self evident, and if someone claimed that it had deeper implications than its superficial meaning, people would tend to laugh at him. Don't we all work when we are working, and don't we play when we are playing? This would be the question that any one of us would automatically ask: if we were to deny it, they would be annoyed. It is the very simplicity of this old saw that hides its deeper meaning so vital for its true understanding. Simplicity seems to be the greatest deceiver of all.

A little self-examination shows that we are often not working when we are at work. We are merely at our place of work. The work lies before us, waiting to be done. But Alas! our minds are elsewhere. The mind may be far away on a projected holiday. It may be on a distant play-field following an unseen match with the mind's eye of imagination. It may be at home worrying about a sick person. Or it may merely be indulging in gorgeous flights of unfettered fantasy. But at work it certainly is not. So what happens to "work while you work?" It is a difficult thing to accept, but it is too general to avoid attracting attention. I dare say that no individual exists who has not, at one time or another caught himself in this activity of not working while at work.

The play situation is not much different. Perhaps more people really play when they are playing, but here too we find persons have their minds and attention elsewhere than upon the activity at hand. So play ceases to be the recreation and relaxation that it should be, and was designed to be. We find therefore that neither our work hours nor our play hours are fully productive of the gains and values that they should produce for us if properly participated in.

How is this relevant to spirituality? Every abhyasi has undoubtedly found in his own experience that while he is supposed to be meditating, his mind is wandering where it likes. When he becomes aware of this, the mind is brought back to meditation. This is true of a majority of abhyasis. But there are abhyasis who let their minds wander because it is such a pleasant thing to do. Such persons only think they are meditating. Actually the mind has been let loose to wander at will. Is it any surprise that such abhyasis progress slowly, and some even don't progress at all? If they really meditated when they are supposed to be meditating, results must follow 'as the night, the day' as the saying goes.

Not satisfied with thus ruining their meditation hour, they destroy their working hours by worrying about lack of progress on the spiritual path. I have found this with quite a large number of abhyasis, who speak of every thing other than Sahaj Marg when they come for sittings, and speak of nothing but spirituality when they should be at work. A queer but often tragic inversion.

When Master is in Madras, I have often been tempted to go late to my office. But he would invariably chase me out of the house at 9 A.M., saying, "You must now go to your office. Work is more important than wasting your time here with me. If I want you I shall ask someone to call you." I used to try to stay on, but he would never allow it. He was quite definite that during work hours, the abhyasis should be at work. Is this not exactly what the school lesson says? And it is precisely what Master teaches us, both by precept and practice.

I have often wondered at the concentration with which he works. It is total. One can see the same attention given even to eating. When he eats he thinks only of the activity of the moment. Dinnertime is no time for idle talk or laughter or even for serious discussion. Dinnertime is for eating. An important lesson I have learnt from my Master is that anything that is worth doing must be done with 100% attention. Nothing less will suffice. This is true dedication.

We all take up abhyas as a sort of game. And so we don't benefit to the extent that we should. If we take it up as work, work upon ourselves, and set to it with 100% attention it must yield 100% results. Then we will see that a brief hour or two of 'work' upon ourselves converts long and dreary hours of daily work to 'play.' Advanced abhyasis of Sahaj Marg have invariably wondered at the sudden and immense capacities that seem to flow into them which makes it possible for their regular work to be done more and more efficiently in less and less time. A stage comes when an abhyasi can say truthfully, and with confidence that his work is but child's play. When is this possible? Only when we really work when we are expected to work, and really meditate when we are supposed to be meditating.

We listen to a great deal of what Master says but we don't hear him. We observe him hour after hour, day after day, but as Master himself says, rather sadly, "Everyone comes to see me but nobody really sees me." Why? Precisely because when we are listening to him speaking, the mind is elsewhere thinking of something else. And when we are looking at him, only the eyes are focussed on him: the mind, the true seeker is elsewhere.

So by lack of attention to what we are doing, whatever it may be, we lose all the benefit we should get from that activity, whether it be work or play. This is only too true of Sahaj Marg. As Master says again and again, we are not incapable of attention. On the contrary, we all have considerable capacity for it. All that happens is that attention is where it should not be. It is in the office when we are meditating. It is at the playground when we are in the office. It is upon unwanted thoughts during meditation. And so on and on. All that is necessary for success on the path is to bring attention back to where it belongs. As Master says so simply and beautifully, "Just divert the mind, and It is there."

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