Sadhana : 5.

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5. SPIRITUAL PROGRESS IS LIKE A SPIRAL :



You have to plod on and scale many hills. You cannot climb the Everest in one jump. There is no jumping on the spiritual path.
Self-realization is not like a six-year post-graduate course. It is the result of intense protracted Sadhana.



There is no short-cut in the spiritual path. There is no royal road to the kingdom of immortal bliss. There is no half-measure in the divine path. Strict, hard discipline is wanted. Then alone you can conquer Maya. Only then can you control the mind.
Saints and Yogins will never think that they have controlled the mind. Only the deluded Sadhaka will imagine he has controlled the mind and get a terrible downfall.



It is the very nature of life, mind, and Prakriti to be constantly in motion. When there is the idea in the mind that the highest goal is yet to be achieved, you will always move towards it. If you imagine that you have got to the top, you will anyhow have to move, and that movement will be downward. You will have a downfall. Aspire for higher realization till the breath ceases in the nostril.



Spiritual progress is slow, as the spiritual Sadhana is difficult and laborious. It is like the spiral. In the beginning, great striving is needed. Gradually, the circle becomes smaller and smaller. So also, the striving becomes less and less. The aspirant gains spiritual strength slowly. He marches faster and faster. Finally, he does not go by furlongs after furlongs. He proceeds by mile after mile. He gallops and gallops. Therefore, be patient; be persevering; be steady.

Swami Sivananda

To be continued   ....


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