SADHAK! (Spiritual Aspirants) BEWARE – Part-1 by Sri Sri Muralidhara swamiji

[Ravishankar.G]

Dear All,

A Sadhak who is involved in spiritual practice should never exhibit himself in any way till he enjoys total experience.

In worldly life, too, many a leader seeing what they deem as shortcomings in the society start an organization with rehabilitation in mind. They commence such movements without any self-interest, in all goodwill and with a sense of sacrifice. However, eventually caught in the net of fame, money and post they are found to move away from the set goal. Similar is the case of a sadhak.

A sadhak involved in spiritual practice should, therefore, be careful till he attains his goal. A devotee who lived with Sri Maha Periyava (H.H. Sri Chandrashekar Saraswathi Swamiji), serving Him, used to say, 'Even while walking, Maha Periyava used to take every single step very cautiously after much thought.' Mistakes committed by an individual affect only him/her. Mistakes committed by the leaders of an organization affect the organization, all those who are connected with it, the movement and the objective of the organization. One should work with this awareness.

While driving on the road, accidents occur on account of two reasons. One is our carelessness. The other is the carelessness of others in spite of our cautious driving. Likewise, while involved in spiritual practice we might move away from our set goal due to our fault; or our association with some (person) might also remove us away from the set goal.

The wicked are not just those who gamble, drink alcohol or those involved in sinful acts. Anyone who is the cause of pulling us away from our objective is also the wicked. The reason is that human birth is rare indeed. Life term is also very short. So, one who wastes our time and troubles us is indeed the wicked.

We should always be very simple. Our mode of worship, spiritual practices and related work should be very simple. In spiritual life we will come across different kinds of people. One might be well learned in the Vedas while another might be a good orator. Yet another might be well versed in the Vedanta Shastras (Scriptures). Some others might be very good at rendering bhajans (devotional songs) melodiously. On seeing such people many Sadhaks might feel, 'I must learn the Vedas; I must learn Shastras(scriptures).' One may yearn at heart, 'Oh! I am unable to sing so melodiously.' Some might even begin to take lessons! We should understand one thing well. Mostly the above-mentioned persons will not be sadhaks. It may be their profession.

Lord will not appear simply because one has knowledge of these; it also does not mean that Lord will not appear to one who has no knowledge of these. Most of the Saints have no knowledge on these subjects! Moreover, the many books and lectures would vehemently say that their path is the only way to Liberation.

On (reading) listening to their words we would also feel that it is only their 'Path' that one should follow. We may feel dejected with our 'Path' or we might move away from our 'Path'. We should move steadily in our own 'Path'.

There is a big danger in all these. As we progress in our sadhana, 'divinity' is reflected in our body, gait, voice etc. Therefore, those who come to meet us may feel attracted to us.

In the world, just as on the one hand there are people who oppose anything so, too, on the other hand are those who lend support to everything. Such people would gradually begin to praise us. They would say, 'until now I have not seen anyone as lustrous ('tejas') as you are'; 'you appeared in my dream'; 'you are only my Guru'; 'You should give me initiation!’ Gradually they would say, 'You are a Mahatma.' They might even say, 'you are an incarnate Slowly they will make you a Guru!

!!! Will Continue !!!
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Regards & Chant the Maha Mantra:
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
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