Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 07.01.2018 evening, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday)

Some say spiritual progress is difficult. Others say that spiritual progress is easy. My Gurudev said that in devotional life there are two different ways of progress – slowly and steadily or quickly and steadily. There are only these two alternatives. Of course, when we met him, it was always very intense, not slow, but definitely steady. Why? Because in the close vicinity of a pure person all the spiritual inspiration is agitated. Things start to happen. A kind of vibration is there and it helps us to go beyond our limitations. Therefore it doesn’t matter whether your progress is quick or slow, but it should be steady.

The spiritual life is an active way of meditation. With our activities, with our words, with our thoughts we can serve the divine purpose. And this progress is very substantial. Even if we practice it unknowingly or by chance, it will help us.

May I tell you one little story about that? Once there was a thief. By profession he was a thief. And, you know, if we have a traditional family profession, we are good at that. ‘My father was a thief, my grandfather was a thief, so I inherited all the talents to become a good thief from them.’ But this thief was a little ambitious. ‘To go to the bazaar and steal certain little things, it’s useless. It’s too low class. Let me have the best of the best. The only thing that is worth stealing.‘  So, he decided to steal the great wealth of a very wealthy landlord. And stealthily during the night he entered the garden. There were some clothes hanging, some bushes, so he could hide and sneak closer to the house. He opened the door and slowly approached the treasure chest. He wanted to snatch everything when he kicked one pot and then it made some noise. So, all of a sudden, all the servants of the home were trying to chase him. He had to jump out of the window, he couldn’t take too much valuables with him, trying to run and hide in the yard. But the guards were almost catching him. Then he came to these clothes that were hanging in the garden for drying. They were of saffron colour. So he quickly wrapped the clothes around himself, one over the body, another over the head like a turban and he was sitting quickly in the bushes just like a sadhu in meditation.

When the guards came, they saw a sadhu and said, “Oh, dandavat pranam, namaste. Haven’t you seen a thief running here?” “Ah, yes, yes! He was running in that direction.” Daybreak came and everybody in the village understood that there is a saint in the yard. So, what happened? The villagers started to visit this person. Bringing some chapati, some rice, some donations.  Asking for blessings. “Swamiji, can you bless my child?” And although he was a thief – and a thief can only bless you to become a good thief – nevertheless he had to act as a sadhu, so he said, “Yes, yes, I bless your son. I bless your daughter.” He thought that in this way he will have some chance to escape. But then he understood: now he is the famous sadhu in the village. There is no escape.

You know, the more people came for blessings, the more rice they brought to him. So finally, he said, “Well, that is less risky than stealing the treasure chest of the landlord. It’s a good business. Better I share some blessings to the people. It’s not that difficult.”  But what happened – he started to distribute so many blessings that ultimately he also changed. Finally, he decided to give up the traditional family occupation and he turned into a sadhu – practically against his desire. He only wanted to steal something, but he ended up as a sadhu.

So, my dear ones, I don’t know your traditional family occupation. But beware! If you start these spiritual practices, you will end up as a sadhu. Why? Because this is so penetrating. It will purify our consciousness. Chanting the mantras will change our consciousness. This is a very serious thing. If you apply the method, the results will come.

Therefore, we have to go on with our spiritual endeavours. Maybe at the very beginning our motivation is not 100% pure. But if you go on, if you follow the process, you will be purified. That’s for sure. So don’t worry about your shortcomings; cultivate the best part inside you. You are a pure soul. A little part is covered by illusion, but originally we are pure souls. And this we have to cultivate. From the false material identification, ego, to come to our real self. You see, this is the spiritual path – from the false ego to ourselves. It’s a long journey, but it’s a glorious path.

(to be continued)