Success in Spiritual life
Swami Yatiswarananda
Success in spiritual life depends on our firmly and steadily holding on to the Divine ideal. Everyone of us must have a central seat of consciousness, a central name to dwell on, and a holy Form to visualise. In the midst of all the confusion and darkness of the relative plane, we must find out a definite course of action, of thinking and of willing, without which no spiritual life is possible. and the person who has no ground to stand on, who has no central point of consciousness, can never have any real faith in himself, and never have any real strength. Always believe firmly: I am a being that can achieve something in the world of the spirit.
Strength is what we want first of all. we are meant for something great, for something nobler and higher. what is needed is not negative humility but positive humility, born of real inner strength. People think they are nothing, and nothing they become. People think they are miserable sinners, and sinners they become. people think they are weak, and weak they become. Filth can never be cleaned with filth.
First of all the body must be strong and healthy. A certain amount of physical strength is necessary. There must be some regular physical exercise in the life of every aspirant. Do not take a negative attitude regarding your body. This body of ours is something noble, a temple of the Divine. It is able to achieve something great. Even such physical faith is needed.
This body of ours is like a raft, like a boat, with which one may cross the ocean of relative life. See that it does not spring a leak, otherwise you are drowned. Make it a point to have regular physical exercise to keep your body in a healthy condition. “May all my limbs, may all my senses, be strong and controlled.” “With strong and controlled bodies, with strong and controlled minds, let us pray to the gods.” Mental faith is only possible when the mind is strong. Strengthen your mind, strengthen your will. Strength of the mind has to be increased. We need the firm faith that the body of ours is a temple of the Divine, that we are spiritual entities. The weakling has no place at all in spiritual life—neither physically, mentally, nor morally. He has no place in the world of the spirit. “This Atman cannot be realised by the weak,” says the Upanishad. If we have strength, then only can we get rid of fear. Drop all fear of others. What will others say of me? If I think this is right, what does it matter what others say or think of me and my doings? Never give in on the vital point. Let us devote every drop of our blood, every heartbeat of our lives, to the Cause in some form or other. Live ideal and irreproachable lives as examples to others, not only for your own salvation.