Spiritual progress
By Swami Gautmananda Courtesy The Hindu
The sure way to progress spiritually is to remain detached even while leading an active life in the world. One will no doubt wonder how it is possible to be detached when engaged in worldly life. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa once clarified to a group of his devotees that true detachment is to live without likes (Raga) and dislikes (Dvesha). If one pauses to analyse, it will become clear that attachment arises from Raga and, frustrations and anger from Dvesha, and both become the cause for further bondage.
It was possible to sail through life without getting further embroiled in bondage if a spiritual seeker accepted both joys and sorrows with faith in God and learnt to see worldly life as divine sport (Lila). In this divine drama God has given each individual a role to play including the smallest insect and so there is no need to feel that one’s role is inferior or superior to another’s. One who believes in God must have implicit faith in Him and play the role assigned to him perfectly.
As the dispenser of Karma, the Almighty knows what is best for each individual and there must be total acceptance of what God has decreed. Life becomes easy for a person if he accepts the role God has assigned to him instead of complaining about his lot.
Acceptance of whatever life deals will become easy if one remembers that the Lord is impartial. Besides there is no point in complaining as one reaps the fruit of one’s Karma of previous lives.
When as a consequence of faith in God there is acceptance of the vicissitudes of life then the person’s life will become spiritualised. Another important attitude one must develop is total surrender of one’s actions to God. By dedicating all actions to God the resulting Karma in the form of Papa (sin) and Punya (merit) will not accrue to the individual.
As he becomes God-centric he will also remember the Lord in his last moments, which scriptures state will liberate the soul and hence there will not be rebirth. As no one knows when the end will come, it becomes all the more imperative that one should pursue the spiritual goal without delay.
It was possible to sail through life without getting further embroiled in bondage if a spiritual seeker accepted both joys and sorrows with faith in God and learnt to see worldly life as divine sport (Lila). In this divine drama God has given each individual a role to play including the smallest insect and so there is no need to feel that one’s role is inferior or superior to another’s. One who believes in God must have implicit faith in Him and play the role assigned to him perfectly.
As the dispenser of Karma, the Almighty knows what is best for each individual and there must be total acceptance of what God has decreed. Life becomes easy for a person if he accepts the role God has assigned to him instead of complaining about his lot.
Acceptance of whatever life deals will become easy if one remembers that the Lord is impartial. Besides there is no point in complaining as one reaps the fruit of one’s Karma of previous lives.
When as a consequence of faith in God there is acceptance of the vicissitudes of life then the person’s life will become spiritualised. Another important attitude one must develop is total surrender of one’s actions to God. By dedicating all actions to God the resulting Karma in the form of Papa (sin) and Punya (merit) will not accrue to the individual.
As he becomes God-centric he will also remember the Lord in his last moments, which scriptures state will liberate the soul and hence there will not be rebirth. As no one knows when the end will come, it becomes all the more imperative that one should pursue the spiritual goal without delay.
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