Om! GOAL SETTING IN SPIRITUAL SADHANA by Nityananda Atman

Atman at Babaji's Ashram Haidakhan Vishva Mhadam India

  GOAL SETTING IN SPIRITUAL SADHANA
by Nityananda Atman 

FREEDOM, HAPPINESS and COMPLETENESS, are characteristics of our True Nature or Consciousness. We can experience them only when our mind is calm and focused in the center of our existence or consciousness, which is eternal, unchanging and the source of peace and bliss.

Mind introverted focused in its center (consciousness) enable us to be in contact with the eternal source of life (God, Spirit, Consciousness), stops the identification and attachment to the external forms and objects.
This has as result to experience freedom, peace, happiness and fulfillment.

Mind extroverted focused on external objects and forms causes identification and attachment to the external forms and objects, compulsive and mechanical thinking and negative emotions.
This has as result to experience bondage, pain, and suffering, with small breaks of pleasure, and fleeting moments of happiness.

With the aid of spiritual practices (sadhana) the mind becomes introverted and stays firmly focused in its center, the consciousness. When all egoic energies are totally destroyed the abidance of the mind in consciousness becomes effortless and without a break, this state is called Liberation. If we want to be established in our center and live a higher spiritual life it is necessary to organize our daily living properly and follow a well organized daily schedule of spiritual practices.

In order to bear fruits the spiritual practices the practitioner is necessary to have some basic virtues such as perseverance, patience, endurance in hardships and adversity, courage, firm determination, faith ( in himself , in the scriptures and the Masters ). In addition, as I have said the aspirant should do his practices systematically. It is necessary to draw a well- organized program in which will set specific goals and objectives, which will try to achieve by practicing with consistency and zeal.

It is important to be understood that apart from the daily program it is very important the setting of specific goals and objectives. It has been shown that when practice has been associated with the achievement of specific goals is much more effective than the practice which is poorly organized and lacks of goals.

Atman at Sivananda room Rishikesh India

Swami Sivananda since 1935 (when the science of learning had not yet advanced), found through his personal experience that is of great importance the implement of a well- organized daily program, the maintenance of a personal diary and the setting of goals. All the above will enable the aspirant to move decisively to his spiritual journey and achieve self-realization. There are many obstacles and difficulties in the spiritual path therefore it is required a very well organized and honest effort to achieve the final goal which is self-realization. The experience and the guidance of those who already have achieved self-realization make our journey easier and help us to save time and energy and march on with more confidence towards self-realization. 


Read at the end of the essay the instructions of Swami Sivananda about how we can organize our daily sadhana

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PRACTICING WITH GOALS?

It is important for us to know the benefits of setting goals in our daily practice, because this knowledge will motivate us to set goals and try to achieve them with enthusiasm. Later on when we will get our personal results we will know from firsthand the value of setting goals and we continue to practice with goals with more joy and satisfaction.

The advantages of setting goals:

1. Create greater motivation and interest.

2. It helps us to be more methodical and effective.

3. It helps to have results more quick.

4. It helps us to evaluate our effort and progress.

5. Motivate us to increase our effort and stick with our plan.

6. It helps us find our weaknesses.

7. We become more creative finding new ways and methods to accomplish our goals.

8. It helps us to be more focused to what is important.

When we set goals we must always remember to

• "Keep it simple"
• "Be flexible"
• "Be open minded"
• "Enjoy every moment of your practice" "Focus on present"
•  

PLANNING THE PROGRAM

In the beginning we plan a program of daily practice which we must follow with regularity and steadiness. We can make changes if we think it is necessary.

The program must be proportional to our needs and capacities.

We must be attentive and see if we can fulfill this program with regularity.

The first 2-3 weeks we must note if the program flows. We must observe how things go and reflect on them in order to determine if the program is fulfilled and if not, what impede us to fulfill the program.

We must determine if the obstacles are external or internal (our mental or emotional weaknesses). When we determine the nature of the obstacles we must do the appropriate changes in pour program or we must eliminate our mental and emotional weaknesses which impede us to fulfill it regularly.

Every once we must examine and evaluate the program. We must determine if it is appropriate for us and help us achieve the goals we have set. If not we must do some changes. If we do not know what to do or we have doubts we must ask for help. Spiritual teachers, advanced spiritual aspirants and books can help us to do what is necessary. Prayer can help us a lot.

Program and goal setting

Together with the program we set specific goals (with schedule) which we try to achieve with the means and the practices of our choice.

The goals we set can be relative to the program itself or the capacities and the qualities we want to develop (some examples: to apply without a break the program for one month. To increase the time of concentration or to increase the time of pranayama or the session time of meditation. To develop patience, tranquility, dispassion, truthfulness etc.)

Setting goals according the time:  

• Short-term goals (the goals of the day or week)  
• Medium-term goals (monthly, quarterly) 
• Long-term goals (semester, annual)  
• The final goal is Self realization 

 HOW WE SET THE GOALS:

• Write down your goals (this one is very important!)
• Follow measure and common sense
• Keep the process of setting goals simple.
• Evaluate the current level of the skills you want to develop.
• Set realistic goals regarding the level and time available. Set goals corresponded amount and difficulty to your level. Make goals moderately difficult.
• Increase the amount and difficulty of goals gradually (step by step).
• Set goals for quantity the quality and stability.
• Set specific measurable goals, not abstract. Define exactly what you want to achieve. Use numbers detailing how often, how many, how much.
• Be flexible and make modifications or change the goal if it is needed.
• Decide the means and the method to follow.
• Set a schedule to achieve the goal.
• Review your progress.
• Reevaluate goals weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually.

ATTENTION

Do not set too many short-term goals. Many people get bogged down by working on too many goals at once.
Do not set unrealistic goals out of reach of your level and time.
Also, remember to be flexible. Sometimes goals need to be modified, especially if you are new at goal-setting. Changing goals is not a sign of failure; it merely helps you become more specific about what you need to do now, considering information you didn’t have at the time you originally set your goals.

TYPES OF GOALS

1. Relative to the program 

2. Relative to the development of practices
 
3. Relative the development of capacities and virtues

4. Relative to the elimination of defects  and the  abandonment of harmful habits

EXAMPLES

1. EXAMPLES relative to the program
Sleeping and waking fixed time in order the program to flow.
Doing meditation with the same ritual, in the same place, same time
Doing meditation steadily every day morning and evening without to fail to do the practice more than 2 times a week

2. EXAMPLES relative to the the development of practices (quantity and quality)
To extend the duration of pranayama within 6 months from 10’ to 20’ minutes and the duration of meditation from 30’ to 45’.
To stay completely motionless during meditation
To increase the ability to concentrate without distractions
To increase the control of senses and mind.

3. EXAMPLES relative the development of virtues.

We develop virtues such as: patience, compassion, truthfulness, sincerity, kindness, acceptance, dispassion, discernment, etc.

4. EXAMPLES relative to the elimination harmful habits and egoic tendencies: 

We eliminate defects such as: fear, jealousy, envy, anger, impatience, gluttony, lasciviousness, guilty, etc.
 
We try to eliminate step by step the expression of each egoic tendency of its all particulars expressions . 

We eliminate harmful habits such as: watching a lot tv, smoking, drinking alcohol, sleeping too much, gossiping, talking to much, criticizing, cheating, telling lies, watching films of violence, porn, horror, lousy, etc..

When for some reason we don't remain steady in our practice to achieve the above goals, we are looking for the cause that creates this lack of consistency and I try to find solutions..

When something doesn’t go as we wish, it is not helpful at all to react emotionally (with guilt, sadness etc. )this is also a play of the ego which wants to stop our progress towards happiness and freedom)). If it happens so we do practices in order to eliminate these undesirable emotional reactions. With sobriety we note what is not working with the program and we make the appropriate changes.

Use Your “SMARTS”

Time-management consultant Hyrum W. Smith created this acronym to help people remember some of the most important aspects of effective goal-setting. Keep these things in mind as you create each of your goals:

S = Specific
For example we set as goal to increase the time of japa nama or meditation. We decide to increase the time every month. We will do for example 3 minutes more than the previous one. This is a specific goal and measurable.

M = Measurable – Quantify goals.
Use numbers detailing how often and how much I will do a practice. For example how often I will do pranayama, (every day) how many pranayamas each session or how much time I will do, -15 minutes.

A = Action-Oriented – Goals should imply actions that you need to take.
For example if we want to eliminate a bad habit or a defect (anger) we must decide the practices which we apply with sincerity and enthusiasm in order to achieve the elimination of this defect.

R = Realistic – Make your goals moderately difficult, but reachable.
It is not appropriate to increase the time of pranayama immediately -for example from 10 minutes a day to 45 minutes. It is highly recommended to increase the amount of practice step by step. We can increase the time of pranayama from 10 minutes to 15 minutes or from 30 repetitions to 40 repetitions.

T = Timely – Create goals that you can reach in a reasonable time.
For example we set as a goal to increase the time of meditation at the end of the year from 40 minutes to 1 hour.   

S = Self-Determined – Set your own goals, ones that are meaningful to you.

~~~   ~~~   ~~~

The three important formulas 
 of Swami Sivananda

Swami Sivananda among so many other instructions that gave to us in order to facilitate our journey towards Self-realization, he suggested three important formulas, considering them of paramount importance for any aspirant who wants to move successfully the path of Self-realization or liberation.

Swami Sivananda says: By keeping a spiritual diary you can then and there rectify your mistakes. You can do more Sadhana and evolve quickly. There is no other best friend and faithful teacher or Guru than your diary. It will teach you the value of time. At the end of every month calculate the total number of hours you spent in Japa, study of religious books, Pranayama, Asanas, sleep, etc. Then you will be able to know how much time You are spending for religious purposes. You have got every chance to increase the period of Japa, meditation, etc., gradually. If you maintain a daily diary properly, without any fault in any of the items, you will not like to waste even a single minute unnecessarily. Then alone will you understand the value of time and how it slips away. to keep a spiritual diary.

The three formulas are:  

1. The twenty important spiritual instructions together with sadhana tattva (or the science of seven cultures for quick evolution of the human being). 
http://www.dlsaus.org/DLSA_Docs/ESSENCE%20OF%20SPRITUALITY_Full.pdf

2. The resolve form
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=565

3. The spiritual diary
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=566

The Three Governing Factors of Sadhana (spiritual practice) by Swami Sivananda

The Three Governing Factors of Sadhana (spiritual practice)

by Swami Sivananda

Many people even after studying classic works on religion and philosophy, do not know what they should do in practice to attain the goal of life, viz., God-realization, and they seek enlightenment on this. The three things essential for God-realization are:

1) constant remembrance of God,

2) cultivation of virtues and

3) spiritualization of all activities.

 1. Constant remembrance of God:

There may be breaks in the beginning, but by repeated practice, gradually you can have constant remembrance. Constant mental repetition of God's Name (Namasmarana), alone is possible for the vast majority of people. Awakening of Kundalini and raising of Brahmakara Vritti are very, very difficult, but when the mind is purified, they would come automatically.

2. Cultivation of virtues:

Of all virtues Ahimsa (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness) and Brahmacharya (celibacy) are the most important. If one is established in one virtue, all other virtues will cling to him. Watch the Vrittis (thoughts, mental and emotional modifications). Introspect. Develop purity in thought, word and deed. In the beginning, practise at least physical purity. Then mental purity will come by itself.

3. Spiritualisation of all activities:

Feel you are an instrument in the Lord's hands and that all the Indriyas (senses) belong to Him. Repeat the formula: "I am Thine; all is Thine; Thy Will be done." It is a beautiful formula for self-surrender. You may forget this formula and egoism may assert itself. But introspect again and again and find out your weakness. Try to be established in the feeling, "I am an instrument in the hands of the Lord." Remember the Gita verse:

SELF-SURRENDER & INSTRUMENTALITY

Whatever you do, or eat, or offer in sacrifice, or give, or practice as austerity, do it as an offering unto Me.   - Bhagavad Gita IX-27

Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me (the Lord) alone; I will liberate thee from all sins, grieve not.   - Bhagavad Gita XVIII-66

These are Saranagati formulas (formulas of Self-surrender)

After the day's work, offer whatever you have done to God. Do not identify yourself with actions. Feel that you are doing your duty as a detached instrument of the Lord's benevolence.

Kayena vacha manasendriyairva
buddhyatmana va prakritessvabhavat,
Karomi yadyat sakalam parasmai
Narayanayeti samarpayami.

Offer all actions and their fruits to God. Then you will not be bound. In this way you should spiritualise all your activities. Feel that the whole world is a manifestation of the Lord and you are serving the Lord in all names and forms, and whatever you do-your actions and the results thereof consecrate to the Lord. Then your heart will be purified and will be ready to receive the divine light and grace.

SUREST METHOD

Therefore, practice the three requisites: constant remembrance of God, spiritualising your activities and cultivating virtues.

These three are very important. Practise them. This is the easiest, the quickest and the surest method for attaining God-realization.

This Atman is hidden in all beings, but it is seen only by subtle seers through their sharp and subtle intellect. - Katha Upanishad

The intellect should be razor-sharp if you wish to understand the Brahma Sutras properly. All are not meant for it. Even then practical experience is essential. 

Therefore, to the vast majority, constant remembrance of the Lord, spiritualization of all activities and cultivation of virtues.  Ahimsa (Non-violence), Satya (Thruhfullness), Brahmacharya (Celibacy), form the most important part of Sadhana. These also constitute the noble eightfold path of Lord Buddha. These also correspond to the "Sermon on the Mount" of Lord Jesus. These are the essentials in all religions. So, kindly practice these, and attain God-realization. Love all. Be good and do good. 

May Lord bless you all.

Need for Yoga Sadhana -Swami Sivananda

 

Need for Yoga Sadhana 

by Swami Sivananda

Why should you prolong your bondage unnecessarily? Why should you not claim your divine birthright right now? Why should you not break your bondage now? Delay means prolongation of your sufferings. You can break it at any moment. This is in your power. Do it now. Stand up. Gird up your loins. Do rigorous and vigorous Sadhana and attain freedom, which is immortality or eternal bliss.

Make the lower nature the servant of the higher through discipline, Tapas, self-restraint and meditation. This is the beginning of your freedom.

The divine within you is stronger than anything that is without you. Therefore be not afraid of anything. Rely on your own Inner Self, the Divinity within you. Tap the source through looking within.

Without renunciation you can never be happy. Without renunciation you can never be successful in gaining the highest good i.e., Moksha. Without renunciation you can never be at your ease. Therefore renounce everything. Make happiness your own. Hold renunciation as the foremost of things.

Improve yourself. Build your character. Purify the heart. Develop divine virtues. Eradicate evil traits. Conquer all that is base in you. Endeavour to attain all that is worthy and noble.

Only when you have purified the heart, silenced the mind, stilled the thoughts and surging emotions, withdrawn the outgoing senses, thinned out the Vasanas, you can behold the glorious Atman during deep meditation.

There are five means by which perfect tranquillity or emancipation can be attained. These form the highest happiness. They are Satsanga or association with the wise, discrimination between the real and the unreal, dispassion, enquiry of 'Who am I?' and meditation. These are called Heaven. These are religion. These form the highest happiness.

Become a good man first. Then control the senses. Then subdue the lower mind by the higher mind. Then the divine light will descend. Only then the vessel will be able to receive and hold the divine light.

Practise meditation persistently and calmly without haste. You will soon attain Samadhi or the Nirvikalpa state.

Spiritual life is toilsome and laborious. It demands constant vigilance and long perseverance before substantial progress is made.

You have yourself built the walls of your prison-house through ignorance. You can demolish the walls through discrimination and enquiry of "Who am I?"

Sufferings purify the soul. They burn up the gross material sins and impurities. The Divinity becomes more and more manifest. They give inner spiritual strength and develop the will force, the power of endurance. Hence sufferings are blessings in disguise.

Even a ray of inner light during meditation will lighten your path. It will give you a great deal of encouragement and inner strength. It will goad you to do more Sadhana. You will experience this ray of light when the meditation becomes deeper and when you rise above body-consciousness.

Meditation and worship are the means of evolving your potentialities and seeking a higher level of consciousness or existence.

Life is the unfolding of the latent capacities of the soul. Lead the divine life. Generate sublime divine thoughts in your mind through meditation, Japa, Kirtan and study of sacred scriptures.

Bathe in the river of life everlasting. Plunge in it. Take a dip in it. Swim in it. Float in it. Rejoice.

Bask the body in the physical sunlight. Bask the soul in the sunlight of the Eternal. You will have good health and everlasting life.

Worship is the unfolding of the bud of the flower of the soul. Worship is life. Worship bestows life eternal.

You may conquer millions of persons in battle, but you will become the greatest conqueror only if you can conquer your own lower self or mind.

So long as your senses are not subdued or weakened, you will have to practise Tapas or self-restraint, Dama or Pratyahara.

Sit down with a composed mind. Assert your mastery over the body and mind. Plunge deep into the chambers of the heart, and enter into the stupendous ocean of Silence. Listen to the voice which is soundless.

Build your spiritual life on a sure foundation, on the rock of divine grace and strength of character. Take refuge in the Lord and His eternal law. There is no power in heaven or on earth that can bar your march now. Success in Self-realisation is certain. Failure exists not for you. There is light on your path. All is brilliant.

How to Develop the Will - Swami Sivananda

How to Develop the Will

¬ Swami Sivananda

Attention, power of endurance, fortitude in suffering, Tapas (austerity) such as standing on one foot, sitting in the hot sun or standing in cold water in winter, raising the hands above and keeping them in the same position for a long time, fasting, patience, command of temper, forbearance, clemency, firmness in meeting danger, power of resistance of attack, Satyagraha, keeping up daily diary, Japa of any Mantra-all pave a long way in developing the will. Uninterrupted steady practice of the above with firm faith will enable you to develop your will to a high degree.

One should patiently hear the words of others even though they are not interesting and attractive. He should not fret himself. Patient hearing develops will and wins the hearts of others. One should do actions or tasks that are not. interesting. This also will develop the will-power. The actions that are not interesting will become interesting after some time.

Try to live happily in any place under any condition. Your will will become strong and dynamic. This is a great secret. Keep this in your pocket and unlock the elysian regions of the spiritual realms and the immortal abode. You can get success in any undertaking. You can conquer any difficulty.

The practice of concentration is of great help to strengthen the will. You must have an intelligent understanding of the nature of the mind, how it wanders and how it operates. You must know easy and effective methods to control the wandering mind. The practice of concentration and memory-culture are allied subjects.

All these are of great help in the development of will-culture. You cannot draw a demarcation-line to denote where the practice of concentration or memory-culture ends and the practice of will-culture begins. There is no hard and fast rule. The force of Brahmacharya Is at the back of the will. No will-culture is possible without Brahmacharya. Will is another name for the force of celibacy (Virya-Sakti). Every drop of semen is a magnetic force.

Constant repetition and meditation on the following formulas will doubtless develop your will-power.

My will is pure, strong and irresistible OM OM OM

I can do anything through my will now OM OM OM

I have an invincible will OM OM OM

You must really feel as you repeat the above formulas. Meditation on the immortal Atman will develop the will-power. This is the best method. Do not use the will in wrong directions'

You will have a hopeless fall. Do not test the strength of your will in the beginning. Wait till it becomes strong, pure and irresistible.

Instructions on Will-Culture

l. One who wants to become a magnetic and dynamic personality or a prodigy or a genius should utilise every second to the best possible advantage and should try to grow mentally, morally and spiritually every second. Idle gossiping should be given up entirely. Every one of you should realise the value of time. Will is bound to become dynamic, if one utilises one's time very profitably. Application and tenacity, interest and attention, patience and perseverance, faith and self-reliance can make a man to be a world-figure.

2. You will have to apply your will according to your capacity. Otherwise your will-power will deteriorate and you will be discouraged. This is one important point. Make a programme of work according to your capacity and see that it is carried out daily. Keep only a few items. If you keep several items which cannot be executed in a day, which are beyond your capacity, your interest will slowly fail and your enthusiasm will gradually decline. Your energy will be dissipated and scattered. You will get brain-fag. Whatever you wish to do daily must be carried out to the very letter.

3. Thinking too much is a hindrance on the execution by the will. It brings confusion, diffidence and procrastination. There is slackening of the force of will. The opportunity will slip away. You may hesitate to put the thing in action. Think for some time correctly and then decide. As soon as you have resolved, you must will immediately. There must not be any unnecessary delay. Sometimes you will, but you do not succeed. This is due to lack of right thinking and right feeling. You must think rightly and at the same time feel rightly. Then the will is bound to succeed. Right feeling should invariably accompany right thinking.

4. He who is attempting to develop the will should always try to keep up a cool mind. He should keep up a balanced mind under all conditions. He will have to perfectly discipline the mind. It is worth practising. Balance of mind is one of the important characteristics of a developed Yogi. That Yogi at all times is really a strong and happy man who can keep up a balanced mind. He will get success in all undertakings. You may fail to keep up the balance in fifty attempts. But from the fifty-first endeavour you will gain strength of will. You will slowly manifest balance of mind, You should not be discouraged in the beginning.

5. If a serious calamity occurs, your mind should not be upset. Just keep the mind cool and calm. Have presence of mind. Do not cry over spilt milk. Anyhow it has come to pass. You will-have to face it with cheerful countenance. Try to make the best of things. Find out methods to tide over the difficulty, to make matters smooth. Keep always an unruffled mind. Do not be carried away by undue sentiments and bubbling emotions. Control them. Reflect how the calamity or trouble or catastrophe has come. Devise suitable, effective, easy methods to tide over the crisis or trying situation. Many obstacles and calamities can be obviated quite easily. Do not brood over failures, defects and mistakes. This will weaken your will. Let the defects remain there. They will be removed quickly when the will becomes purer and purer, stronger.

6. Just reflect for a white why you have failed in the attempt and try to be careful in the second attempt. Try to remove those factors that led to your failure in the previous attempt. Fortify yourself now. Be careful and vigilant. Be on the alert. You must be quick and at the same time efficient and capable. You should not make mistakes.

7. Whenever you are in a dilemma or difficulty, never get discouraged. Never lose your heart. Use your skill nicely. Devise intelligent plan or scheme. Call forth all your latent energies or dormant faculties. When the house is on fire, how alert you are! How promptly and skilfully you act at that particular moment! You do not know wherefrom the energy and power are flowing at that time. You are fully concentrated. You contrive skilful methods then and there to save your property as much as possible and to save the lives of your kinsmen who are dwelling in the house. Marvellous actions you do. Then you say at your leisure, when the difficulty passes away: "Some mysterious power of God has worked through me."

8. Unwavering firmness and patience (Dhriti and Dhairya) are needed to tide over critical situations and to get success. Dhriti is spiritual patience. Dhairya is presence of mind. Samata (balanced state of mind) develops the will to a considerable degree.

9. Do not be troubled at all if there is delay in the development of the will. The will is bound to carry out all your orders in the long run. You can treat any ailment of other people by mere willing: "Let the patient be free from this disease." This will really come to pass immediately. You will be really astonished. You can treat any disease in your body by mere willing. Will strongly: "I must see Mr. Balakrishna at 8.00 a.m." The man will be at your door in the exact time. Will is your obedient and willing servant. It will fetch anything you want. If there is delay, apply the will once more with patience. In the beginning you will find it a bit difficult to apply the will, because it is a new practice for you. Gradually you will know how to apply the will. You will understand the knack and technique. Will can be applied in the twinkling of an eye and the object also will be realised in no time. Stronger the will, the quicker the realisation is. Practice will make you perfect. Experiences will teach you.

I0. You will have to be very careful in the use of the will. It is always advisable to reserve the will-force for the achievement of higher spiritual success. Worldly success is nothing. This life is like a bubble. It is a long dream. Worldly success will not give you everlasting peace and happiness. Try your will in one or two instances in worldly matters. You will understand and realise its power. Then apply the will in Self-realisation. Ignore the mundane affairs. They are worthless like straw or dung. Become a Yogin. This alone will give you absolute satisfaction.

11. Practise the assertions boldly and calmly. Fully understand the meaning of every assertion and try to feel. The feeling will slowly manifest. You will have to fight against your old enemies, the old Samskaras. Wait coolly. Try to develop patience, attention, power of endurance, balance or mind and presence of mind. These qualities are very necessary to develop your Will. Develop intention also. Practise will-culture for three months. You will feel your inner strength. The things that appeared difficult some time ago can be done with ease now. You will feel that you now have ai unruffled mind. Things that would easily upset your mind previously cannot do so now. You can turn out immense work quite smoothly. Your walk is graceful. Your speech is powerful. You are quite a changed man. There is a glow in your cheeks and a peculiar charm in your smile. You are able to influence many persons now. Your friends notice a magnetic aura in your face.

12. The practice of concentration should go hand in hand with the memory and will-culture. concentration is an auxiliary in all cultures. No culture is possible without concentration. Have regular concentration-exercises daily in the morning and evening. Have a spiritual basis in your concentration. You practise concentration not only for developing your memory and will but mainly for Self-realisation. That is the chief aim. Never, never forget this point. This is the fundamental difference between my system and the various other systems. Brahmacharya and Self-realisation are the keynotes in my system. I harp on these two points in various places. I want you to develop your memory and will for success ln life and achievement of the Brahmic bliss eventually. The practice of concentration will immensely help your memory and will-culture also. Keep a record of your experiences

in concentration in your diary and send me a copy of it every month.

13. Develop Sattvic virtues also. You will understand the method of developing various virtues. Develop that virtue which you are hopelessly lacking. Courage, mercy, universal love, nobility, compassion, contentment, frankness, honesty must be developed to a high degree. If you develop one important virtue, all other virtues will cling to you. If you have humility and courage, all other virtues will come by themselves. You should spend daily some time for the development of virtues.

14. Eradicate evil qualities. The development of virtuous qualities will itself remove the negative qualities. But it is better to make a positive attempt in the eradication of these evil qualities. Then the progress will be rapid. It is double attack on the enemy. Then success becomes easy and sure. If you could remove lust or anger or egoism, all other evil qualities will disappear by themselves. All evil qualities are the attendants of egoism. If egoism is destroyed, if the commander is killed all the soldiers or retinues will take to the heels out of fright, because they have lost their head. All vices originate from anger. If anger is destroyed all sorts of vices will vanish. Therefore, concentrate your attention in killing egoism or anger. Then the whole work is done.

15. You must have discipline of the senses (Indriyas). Conserve energy. This is most important. If the sense (Indriyas) are turbulent, you cannot have concentration. Watch every sense carefully and correct it by suitable methods such as Mauna, Trataka, fasting, celibacy, renunciation of sensual enjoyments, Dama and Pratyahara. The senses draw you out and make your mind outgoing. Curbing of the senses really means curbing of the mind. The senses cannot do any independent work without the direct help of the mind.

16. Another important point is physical culture. I again remind you that no culture is possible if you do not possess a sound and healthy body. Keep your body strong and healthy by regular exercise.

17. If you want rapid progress, if you want substantial growth, keep a daily diary. Let this be a true diary with a clean conscience. Having armed yourself with the above Sadhana you can become a mighty emperor of this world. You can enjoy health, wealth, spiritual bliss and longevity. I have shown graduated exercises according to the capacity of the student. Now it is left for you to expand and grow. You will have to apply yourself diligently. A hungry man will have to eat for himself. A thirsty man will have to drink for himself. Become a spiritual hero. Get success in every department of your life. These practices will become now part and parcel of your nature after some practice. You can go on developing them till you attain perfection.

18. There is a great difference between the eastern way of culture of the Hindu sages and Rishis, and the method of culture of the western occultists. The fundamental difference is that in the west, people train their will and memory for attaining material progress and worldly prosperity only. They have ignored completely the life beyond. This is a serious blunder indeed. Whereas the Yogins of India do develop their will for attaining Self-realisation. They exhibit psychic Siddhis to make their students clearly understand that there is a higher super-sensual life in the Atman, which alone can give real bliss and immortality.

They clearly impress their students in emphatic terms: "Na karmana- na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amritatvam anasuh (Not by actions, nor by progeny, nor by riches but by renunciation alone can one attain immortality)." "There is no happiness in the perishable, finite objects. The real peace is in the Absolute alone. The Absolute must be sought and understood." This one ringing note is blown in their ears daily.

19. Therefore, the western occultists should not neglect the spiritual culture and should not forget the spiritual basis of all other cultures. One can have material prosperity to a certain extent. He should develop the spiritual side also. There should be a spiritual basis for all sorts of cultures and undertakings. This is the most important point. If this side is ignored completely, then that culture ii no culture at all. There should be the practice of a little Tapas (austerity) along with the will-culture. Saunaka, a wise householder, approached the Sage Angirasa and asked: "O venerable Sir, what is that supreme culture by knowing which all other cultures are known?" Angirasa replied: "It is Brahma-Vidya or the spiritual culture or the Science of the Self." Therefore I draw the attention of western culturists in this direction. Then they will have wonderful success and immense joy. Some Hindu Yogins completely ignore the material side and practise Tamasic Tapas. This is also not advisable. This is condemned by Lord Krishna in the Gita. Extremes are always bad. A healthy combination is highly desirable. Chudala and Janaka had this happy combination.

20. I want to place before you another important point. Those who are attempting to develop their will-power should remove the words 'Cannot.' 'Difficult,' 'Impossible,' etc., from their mind. These are the expressions of a weakling or an effeminate person. These are the expressions of a timid lady. Become a lion. Become a spiritual hero. Become a champion in the Adhyatmic field. By mere willing or chanting of OM, the mountains should be crushed into powder. By mere willing, mountains should move. By mere willing, the ocean should recede. By mere willing, all the waves of ocean should subside. Lord Jesus did this and you can also do. Whatever one has achieved can be attained by all if they will. This is the grand law of nature. Speak with force. Talk with emphasis in a Gambhira manner. Gambhira is not pride. It is the quality of magnanimity.

21. Therefore never entertain any negative terms in your mind. Understand the glory, splendour and power of the Self which is at the back of your mind, thought, will and memory. Understand the magnanimity and immortal nature of that hidden, interpenetrating, indwelling essence. Know that this Self is the storehouse of all knowledge, bliss, power, beauty, peace and joy. Feel that the sun, moon, stars and the fire do their respective functions at your command. Feel that the air moves, rain falls, fire burns, rivers flow, sun shines, stars glitter, at your bidding. Thou art the Glory of glories, Sun of suns, Light of lights. Thou art the Truth. Thou art the imperishable, undecaying, undying Atman that pervades this whole universe. Assert your Divine Majesty. Recognise the

Brahmic Glory. Realise your freedom.