== LATER ON I WILL DO A LOT OF SA'DHANA' ==
Namaskar,
It can sometimes happen in the life of a sadhaka that one thinks, 'although
I do not have time for sadhana today, later on in the future I will have a
lot of time for sadhana'. This type of mentality can develop in one's mind;
even it is common.
EXAMPLES HOW PEOPLE PLAN TO DO SADHANA
I have one margii friend who was trying hard to arrange the marriage of his
daughter. In that planning, day by day was going by, and all the while he
was neglecting his spiritual duties-- he wasn't doing an ounce of sadhana.
And whenever anyone raised the matter with him then he would immediately
retort, 'When this is marriage is finalised then I will devote a maximum
amount of time for sadhana'. This was his on-going justification. But in
the end, when the marriage finally got arranged then immediately he became
involved in arranging a place for the newly married couple to live etc etc
-- and never did he have time to do sadhana. Just his life became filled
with another type of mundane planning.
On another occasion I was in the presence of one acarya, who for years and
years was planning that when he will become old then he will do lots and
lots of sadhana. So he spent nearly 10 or 12 years of his life planning to
find a place to live later on so that when he gets older he will be able to
do plenty of sadhana. But ultimately his plan did not come to fruition and
in the end he only complained that he was unable to do sadhana because he
could not concentrate his mind.
Then in another situation, there was one margii neighbor who was working 24
hrs a day at his mundane job and side by side building sadhana platforms in
his backyard-- planning that 'in the future when I retire then I will
devote all my time to sadhana'. So at present he was neglecting his kiirtan
and sadhana under the excuse that he had no time as he needed to work to
make money in order to build the sadhana platforms etc. This was his
on-going plan. But when all was said and done, after skipping his sadhana
for so long finally he lost interest entirely in doing meditation. Never
was his dream fulfilled, and he just filled his life instead with more
mundane things.
So like this in various ways and shapes people build glorious plans about
how in future they will do a lot of sadhana-- yet neglect their practice in
the present moment. But tragically the end of the story is never good for
such type of planners.
Step by step here are Baba's replies to those who plan in the future they
will do so much sadhana.
TO THOSE WHO PLAN THAT IN OLD AGE I WILL DO SADHANA
Here below Baba responds to those who think that when they retire or when
the kids grow old then I will do a lot of sadhana.
Baba says, "Some people consider that one should start intuitional practice
in old age when a person has more leisure, after one has spent the prime of
one's life earning money. People are afraid that they may face insecurity
and difficulties in their old age if they do not accumulate enough wealth
before their bodies weaken with age, rendering them incapable of hard work.
They regard the prime of life as the period intended for earning money, and
old age with its decreased capacity for hard work as the time to remember
God. They are labouring under the misconception that hard work is not
necessary for intuitional practice and that old age is therefore the proper
time for it. Whoever is born is bound to die and one is constantly
approaching death, not knowing when it will come. It is never certain if
one will live to grow old. Yet people reserve the most important work of
practising sa´dhana´ for the time when the body has become completely
enfeebled and the fatuous mind of old age has become entangled in the
reactions of this life to such an extent that it is afraid of starting
anything new. Ordinarily it is fear of one's approaching death that makes
one think of God in old age. One's evil deeds begin to haunt one, and one
starts praying and imploring God to save him or her from the consequences
of one's deeds. There is no value in remembering God in old age, when it is
not possible to concentrate the mind due to the weakness and disease of the
body and its preoccupation with the reactions (sam´ska´ras) of the deeds of
this life. The mind then is caught up in the infirmities of the body, in
the diseases of old age, impending death, and most of all, in memories of
past incidents, and it is impossible to concentrate it. For these reasons
one is incapable of intuitional practice." (AMEP, chap 10)
So in His above teaching Baba is guiding us that one cannot suddenly start
doing a lot of sadhana in old age. Because at that point the mind has
already been trained in a different way-- it is not accustomed to doing
sadhana. Thus in later age doing sadhana is nothing but a far off dream.
Plus in old age invariably people suffer from various physical ailments
which prevent them from doing meditation.
MORE ABOUT SPIRITUAL LETHARGY
Here below Baba exposes the futile plans of those who promise that in
future I will do a lot of sadhana.
Baba says, "Of all the different types of lethargy, spiritual lethargy is
the worst. Spiritual lethargy means not to sit for meditation regularly.
Those with spiritual lethargy have time for all other actions, but for
spiritual practice there seems to be no time. They say, "It's already late
today - I'll do a short meditation right now, and devote more time to
sa'dhana' tomorrow." They sit attentively inside the cinema hall, but in
dharma sa'dhana' they feel sleepy." (AMIWL-10)
Baba says, "Every human being, from the age of fourteen or fifteen, has an
innate desire to ideate on Parama Purus'a. With cosmic ideation one will
attain vast expansion of mind, one will become great in all respects. No
one can check the all-round growth of such a person. People realize this
and yet ignore it and thus waste their time getting old for nothing. That
is, they waste their time in non-spiritual pursuits. This is called
'spiritual lethargy'. It causes the greatest harm to human life because it
results in only a very small percentage of the human potentiality - maybe
one or two percent - being utilized by humans. Even those whom we call
great personalities hardly use ten percent of their potentialities. Due to
spiritual lethargy people are unable to grow, and thus remain very
ordinary. They come to the world, live, decay and die as ordinary human
beings." (AV-8)
So such type of poor planning or laziness in sadhana ruins one's existence.
SADHANA SHOULD BE DONE IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT
Here below Baba guides us that nothing in this world is permanent and that
even our near and dear ones forget us when we leave this world. Hence while
living on this earth we should pass our time in more and more sadhana--
since our link with Him will alone with us, forever and ever.
Baba says, "When a person dies, what feelings will his mother and father,
his brothers and sisters show? They will cry aloud, but after two or three
days, normalcy will return. They will resume their normal mundane duties.
And after a few days more or a few months they will forget the person. In
societies where a widow's marriage is accepted by people, the widow will
remarry...So you cannot say that any of your relatives is your bandhu.
Nobody is your bandhu, or friend, in this respect...Jagat Bandhu is the
only real Bandhu. Parama Purus'a is the only real bandhu. He loved you in
the past; He will love you in the future. He alone is Bandhu. His name is
Jagat Bandhu..." (AV-4)
Baba says, "After your death your friends will carry you to the cremation
ground. After being burnt, the body is rendered into ashes. Your friends
will spray some water on the ashes of the funeral pyre, and then go back
home. As long as they are in the cremation ground, they remember you. After
that they forget you. But dharma remains with you even after your death,
and what you did for dharma in this world is never forgotten. Therefore, in
your worldly life, you are to strengthen the hands of dharma, and in the
world, dharma will strengthen you." (AV-4)
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace as Ananda Margiis we should be pointed in our daily sadhana
practice lest all our time get wasted in other pursuits. So we should
devote more and more energy to sadhana in this present moment.
Baba says, "The worship of Brahma should be done scrupulously, or else you
will later regret and bemoan the futility of your life with the last drop
of your tears at your last hour. You should make your life worthwhile
through your sa'dhana' How much can your worldly friends and relations do
for you? After your death your relatives may perhaps ask, "How much money
has he left behind?" Your friends may go to the crematorium and indulge in
flattering reminiscences about you. Your husband or wife may cry for you
for about ten or twelve days and then regain their normal composure. Your
lot will be only a profound sigh - a record of the futility and frustration
of your life. So do not waste your time lest you later have to repent." (SS-3)
Namaskar,
Praviira
Note: If one maintains a strict sadhana & asana practice throughout their
life then in late age also they will be able to carry on with their
spiritual routine. But those who neglect their daily sadhana will never be
able to taste that sweetness in their later years. That is the way it works
according to Baba.
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The Place of Occult Powers in AM
Baba says, "In spiritual life as well as in ordinary life, if one retains
simplicity it is helpful for the attainment of God; through this one's life
and mind become filled with the effulgence of Parama Purusa. This is the
supreme attainment. Spying out every nook and cranny of the eight occult
powers is another name for stupidity." (SC-2, p.149)
Note: Unfortunately in the general society people think that occult powers
themselves are the essence of spirituality. Indeed, devoid of occult
powers, such persons do not have any concept of spirituality. In AM however
it is different; it is not like that. In our Marga devotion gets utmost
importance.
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