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Impediments to Progress
Any person who says, "Yes, I do my meditation everyday, I sit
regularly and yet there is no progress." He is cheating himself
day after day; his practice is not correct; may be he sits with his
eyes closed for one hour, but he is not meditating. He cleans himself
rigorously but there is no cleaning.
In one sense, the Guru's efforts are hampered (i) by our own lack of
effort; (ii) by our unwillingness and inability to appreciate what we
are here for, what we are probing for, what we are searching for; and
(iii) our inability to receive, even when you know what it is because
we have not been able to adjust our own selves, to receive that which
He wants to give us. So, there are three aspects.
Babuji once pointed out, very affectionately and compassionately, "Abhyasis
don't realize that they have to improve every day. One day, the realization
comes to them that it is the end." It is not the question of the
life span itself! There is an inevitability in the reduction of time
available to us, like when we have to go in a train to our destination,
every mile that we go, reduces the distance we have to go by one mile!
There, lapse of time, lapse of distance, is progress. I mean it is a
very definite progress, so long as there is the next train. But, here
that time is passing, and we are not growing! I mean, spiritual growth,
not physical growth.
Babuji said, "I do not know how to tell people, that with each
passing day, your time available to you is one day less! And if on that
day you have not progressed, you have to make it up the next day!"
It is like children doing homework. If they have not done today, they
have to do more tomorrow and if not tomorrow also, then the third day
they have to do three times more! And then, if it goes on, a time comes
when there is so much accumulation that we cannot possibly do it!
So, we have on one side a very tragic, a very enormous, accumulation
of samskaras, which are a burden, which are a drag on our progress,
which we are responsible for, which we have created ourselves; that
which, by His mercy, by His Grace, He is trying to remove. And He is
removing it. The second factor impeding our growth is, we are continuing
to add to it, we are accumulating more grossness, we are creating more
grossness. The most tragic third factor is that, knowing He is removing
it, yet we remain idle, and waste our time in flippant activities. not
realizing that each moment of that time is one moment lost forever;
and sadly it cannot be got again. Money can be lost and made again.
Health can be lost and restored again. And, you know, if you believe
in the doctrine of punarjanma (rebirth) even life can be lost and we
live again! But that is a feeling. If somebody tells you, "Well,
it does not matter. As you said, I will take a hundred lives more to
achieve the Goal" - it is his right, it is his privilege, it is
his prerogative. But it is a fool's life!
So, if you are going to be wise about spirituality, if you are really
serious about spirituality, you must remember always our great Master's
very spiritual advice on how to conduct life wisely: "Live as if
you are going to die the next moment." Master was always very careful
not to say these words, because unfortunately many people who are superstitious
would think: "Well, Babuji says that I do not have a long life!"
Yes, there are people who imagine! If Babuji told them, "My dear
friend, remember, one day left is one day left," they will say,
"Well, perhaps He says I am not going to exist too long!"
And then, that fear itself would stop them! So, it is His enormous concern
for our welfare, for our growth, that prevented Him from giving us so
much advice that He should normally have given! Because we would have
taken it in the wrong sense, given it a wrong meaning, read wrong meanings
into it. And so we have to be content with 'Jeetae Raho', that may be
true for eternity!
I hope, at least, all of you have remembered to meditate too! Because
if you don't meditate every day, the accumulation is getting increased,
the burden on the Master is getting increased, and instead of behaving
wisely, we let ourselves be passive. So, instead of satisfaction and
waste of time, there should be more eagerness to meditate and an urge
to go ahead - progress has to be active.
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