Sadhana or Spiritual Direction

My dear associates in the Path,

1) The other day we were talking about the blissful condition of universal love. Of the many needs we have as human beings, the one that brings us the most inner tranquillity is sharing who we are, how we feel, what we are thinking, and what we are discovering about ourselves. We all need a sacred witness in life, a person who can listen without judgment while knowing the right questions to ask that continually illuminate our path. We need this quality of deep sharing with another person because through such dialogue, we witness our own maturity through the years, we grapple with our own wounds, we cleanse ourselves of wrong-doings, we dig more carefully into the hidden resources in our nature, we muse over feelings that take us by surprise, we walk with a companion through labyrinths of dark confusion, we confront great questions about the meaning and purpose of our life and we examine what it is we believe to be true about the Sacred. This quality of dialogue is what takes place in Spiritual Direction. The role of the trainer and that of the seeker is an austere enterprise.

2) There have been masters and gurus and guides from times immemorial. But the system of our beloved master provides trainers who know the path and are ready to throw light on the path and direct us in the right course. The need for a road map of spiritual journey is of paramount importance. The continuity of the system is assured and seekers have guides if only there is keen search for one. Guides are there and guidance is there but it is the individual who should move in the path. When the yielding is there on the part of trainer and trained, through Spiritual Direction, we enter into this quality of dialogue with the intent of letting the spirit within us "reveal” the story we are living that is our life. We experience our lives physically. We think about and rationalize the dynamics of our lives mentally. We process everything emotionally and psychologically. But it is the spirit within us that holds the key to the significant questions of life. Spiritual Direction is the art of assisting a person in articulating a truth that is already bubbling up within longing to be realized. Thanks to the nature of love the spirit within us always moves us toward reconciliation, healing, wisdom, courage, and love. Spiritual direction is almost never through vocal words and manual signals though such an utilisation cannot be ruled out totally.

3) We may wonder what exactly is spirit? How do we know what our spirit really is? The reality is that we know more than we realize. Our spirit is that part of us that is ever-consistent, ever-present to us, even in the voice of inner conflict and stress. This is because our spirit is a truth vessel: its very nature is Truth that is always shining in the inner most core of our heart. It is continually guiding us back to center through the worst storms and the darkest of nights. First and foremost is the determination to know our inner self and then grow out of it to embrace the universal self. Spiritual Direction is the choice to establish a connection with our inner thread (antaryami) to the Divine (para) and to then seek counsel from an adept in the path, through conversation, prayer and reflection on how to absorb that inner truth going forward in our life. Guidance from the Master flows continually in our life, as every decision is understood to be a profound act of creation. How we make each decision and why we make the choices we do in life matters to others and to the quality of life we are living. Nothing about our life or the life of another person is insignificant

4) Spiritual Direction or sadhana is a way of keeping our finger on our own pulse, our own moral conscience, our own integrity, and our own calling in this lifetime. This is not an easy world to live in. It is one filled with chaos and vague rules. We are the ones in charge of ourselves for the most part. But regardless of how chaotic or technical or sophisticated a world we live in, we cannot change our basic nature. We thrive on truth and we disintegrate when we live a life of betrayal, especially to our own being. The journey in satyapadam is not an easy trek. The need for a fellow being to continually guide through the path is absolutely essential.

5) Our sadhana is essentially oriented to the problem of our existence. The problem of "Who am I" has been the oldest philosophical enquiry in human history. It is no accident that many of us feel more and more deeply compelled to discover and fulfill our purpose. This is so because the time is at hand for humanity as a whole to awaken and remember exactly why we are here. This is where our evolution has been guiding us all along. This is the nature of the New Era ushered by our beloved Lalaji Maharaj of Fategarh.

6) The question of what our purpose in life is can be hard to answer until we embrace the fact that our purpose is actually evolving, right along the Natural Path. This evolution can be summed up by examining three aspects of sadhana, namely our outer purpose, inner purpose and ultimate purpose. Our outer purpose is due to Ego or our doing, the inner purpose is our soul or our becoming Brahman from the present Atman and our ultimate purpose is being Brahman always.

7) The outer purpose is the traditional view of life which focuses on what we do-usually our career and the roles we play, rather than addressing who we are meant to become, we focus at this stage on what we are meant to accomplish. This has long been the level humanity has been at, and it is reflective of our sense of separation and full identification with the ego. It is the mentality of "survive and thrive". The problem with this limited view of purpose is that it has led us to search for fulfillment and happiness outside of ourselves. No matter what we achieve, it is never enough as we are, though not consciously but still long for the next stage of our evolution, which is to know and fulfill our purpose at the inner level. Since the dawn of the New Era something is occurring which makes us feel that we are moving away from doing and instinctively feel that we were meant to become something. This is the shift from outer purpose to inner purpose which sensitive persons consciously feel while others seek the same unconsciously. Though our exploration of inner purpose was initially focused on developing and healing ourselves, we are now exploring inner purpose at its true level of evolving our souls.

8) We may define our soul as that part of us that remains constant as a non-physical "personality" across many lifetimes. Awakening to our inner purpose is about fulfilling the soul's intentions for this lifetime. These intentions comprise mastering and sharing our lessons and gifts with the world. Here we work to heal our limiting beliefs and to increase our inner power in order to answer the question, "Why am I here at this time, and what am l here to contribute to humanity?" The achievement of this inner purpose is very important at this time in human history, for each soul is here now to clear away all karma once and for all and prepare itself for a great event: humanity's spiritual awakening. This event is our ultimate purpose. The importance of following the Natural becomes clear and we get motivated to attend to our inner cleansing and universal prayer.

9) Unlike outer and inner purposes, which are unique to each individual, ultimate purpose is shared by all human beings. As we progress in the time line the breath (prana) of Spirit draws ever nearer to the Earth, and our souls feel it. This is our imperience of Pranahuti. Many are awakening as they draw in this Prana, and soon a tipping point will be reached when all humanity will wake up and function as a single, unified consciousness. It is a glorious thing where we find the chapter of separation and life of the Ego ends.

10) When we begin to awaken spiritually, we remember who we really are, which is not something separate from Spirit. We are each like a cell within a great body, and each cell has its function. The sharing of our gifts is our "cellular function" at this time in our collective evolution. In this context, the gifts of our inner purpose take on a much higher meaning: They are how we serve the world at dawn of this wondrous New Era. As we fully transition to ultimate purpose, we open our consciousness even further. No longer do we need to become anything. We realize "we are That." Being is enough. Master puts it cryptily when he said This and that have gone now.’ And again in another message said 11 there is no question of separation. We are coming closer and closer.” He emphases this by adding that “This is a message to all.” Our gift to the world now becomes our embodiment of the consciousness of Spirit itself. This is the goal.

11) There much more meaning to our evolution. Thus our lives become ever more joyful, abundant, and significant. The greater effect, however, is this: the only way to truly change our world, to end suffering, violence, environmental destruction, and the horrible imbalance of life quality on this planet, is to shift our own consciousness. We matter. Each and every one of us. There are a few vows we should take in the journey. All the vows are covered in the Prayer given to us by the Master. We know Beings are numberless and we vow to save them. The aspirants may meditate on the prayer at 9 P.M. The desires are inexhaustible and we should vow to end them. Pray regularly as advised by the Master and we shall fulfill our aspiration. The Natural Path has many gates of understanding and we should enter all of them if necessary. This is the Path given by our Master.

12) When we each fulfill our evolving purpose, person by person, one by one, we accomplish both the healing of our humanity and of our planet. We also evolve Spirit itself, and that is the true reason for our being and our sadhana.