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• Personal Growth

November 2008

By Megha Bajaj

There are no quick-fix solutions on the spiritual path. All there is is a marvellous, mysterious path upon which you must be willing to walk.

Tests for enlightenment

Here are a few questions for introspection. Verify your position.

A. Do I look to anything or anyone else for fulfilment?

B. Do I find any existence besides the Self, at any time, judged by any standards?

C. Do I think of any gain greater than the Self which I already am?

D. Do I feel that I am a non-doer, and hence non-enjoyer and non-sufferer?

E. Do I know clearly that the Self is the supreme Brilliance and in its light alone all other things shine with their respective lustre?

F. Do I realise that while wakefulness, dream and deep sleep states rise and set, their substratum does not rise and set? Do I also realise that these transitory states have no existence besides Self?

G. Do I feel like comparing myself with other Knowers in order to judge my Self-knowledge? Do I feel I am less or more than others?H. Do I walk my talk? Do I live out what I preach?

In short, Self-realisation implies a state of full freedom, in the consciousness level. It denotes psychological sufficiency and intelligential enlightenment, both of which must be foolproof. Decide how much freedom you envisage and want and then fulfil it. Finally, the need for freedom will itself become extinct.

Adapted from a letter by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha RevelationNo more my heart shall sob or grieve.My days and nights dissolve in God’s own Light.Above the toil of life my soulIs a Bird of Fire winging the Infinite. I have known the One and His secret Play,And passed beyond the sea of Ignorance-Dream.In tune with Him, I sport and sing;I own the golden Eye of the Supreme. Drunk deep of Immortality,I am the root and boughs of a teeming vast.My Form I have known and realised.The Supreme and I are one; all we outlast.-Sri Chinmoy Quotes:“As we keep travelling inwards on our spiritual journey, we see that the sheaths keep getting subtler and more refined.” Once the metamorphosis begins, every aspect of an individual’s life undergoes an absolute transformation Nilima Bhat“Check if your sense of well-being has increased, and you are more energetic.” Arun Wakhlu“There is complete surrender. You dissolve. There is no sense of ‘I’.” Anil Bhatnagar“Cheerfulness is a part of one’s life as one moves along the path.” We can measure our health, we can quantify our wealth but is there some means of gauging our spiritual growth? Perhaps not. As many the seekers, that many paths. Yet there is a certain common miraculous unfolding that happens to everyone who has chosen to tread the spiritual path. Certain common insights, similar perspective shifts and universal realisations unfold. Nothing about life remains ordinary. Using these common experiences of several seekers, this article attempts to understand what the landmarks of the pilgrim’s progress are and how, no matter where you are, there is always a place higher to reach. A disciple approaches his guru and asks, “How many years do you think it will take me to achieve realisation?” The guru smiles and answers, “Five years.” The disciple’s face falls and he says, “That’s too long, guruji, isn’t there a practice that will take fewer years?” The guru’s smile grows and he replies, “Actually what I really meant is not five years but 10!” The disciple is now truly agitated. He asks, “What if I work really hard, what if I meditate every second, then will it be quicker?” “Then it will take you 15 years!”, said the guru. Absolutely perplexed, the shishya asks, “The harder I am willing to work, the further you postpone my realization. Why is that so?” The guru explains, “When most of your focus is on the destination, will you do any justice to the journey? Please understand that there are no quick-fix solutions on the spiritual path. All there is, is a marvellous, mysterious path upon which you must be willing to walk. Your responsibility is to walk. How long will it take, how the path will be, remains for the Almighty to discern!” Nodding his head slowly in understanding, the disciple asks, “I understand guruji. I do. Tell me, how will I know I am on the right path? Will there be certain signs that will show me that yes, I am indeed on the right track?” “Good question,” nodded the guru,” You see, being on the spiritual path is like sowing a seed. Your responsibility is to buy the seed, ensure the soil is fertile and sow the seed. You need to constantly water your plant too. However, if every few hours you dig up the soil to see if the seed is growing you will only end up killing it. Doubts in your spiritual practice will only hamper your growth. Having said that, one also needs to ask progressive questions time and again to ensure that the spiritual seed that you sowed is growing and no weeds are harming it. You need to do a self-assessment every now and then. Yes, there will be signs, there will be landmarks. Use them as reiterations and walk on. Chairaveti is a word the Buddha used to say, go on, go on and that is what you need to do.” Signs do exist. They pull one higher and higher in the spiritual journey acting as trailers of what is to be expected ahead. As confirmations that we are on the right path. Without them, one would indeed be lost. How these signs come, how they are experienced, may be different for each individual. For Ashok Chauhan, CEO of a software company, spiritual growth has happened in spurts. He says, “Osho once said that spiritual growth often happens like a lightning flash. There is darkness and all of a sudden, one sees a flash of light, and clarity dawns. Nothing is the same as before. For me, there have been several of these ‘lightning’ moments that turned me into a believer from a non-believer, a disciple from being a sceptic.” Chandrika, author of enlightening books like Atma Siddhi and Bhaj Govindam, says, “For me, there has been no sudden epiphany which led to spiritual attunement. It happens so gradually, it is like slipping into a peaceful smooth sleep. However, as one delves deeper into the spiritual aspect of one’s personality, one actually morphs into a new person, like a caterpillar morphing into a butterfly. Then one’s world view undergoes a shift.” Yet, for many others, including me, spiritual growth has been the result of encountering one crisis after the other in different areas of life. For me, it began when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not knowing who to turn to, I turned to God for comfort.

For Nilima Bhatt, founder of a spiritual organisation called Roots and Wings, it began with an identity crisis. She shares, “My spiritual journey began when I was 32. I was working with ESPN Star Sports as head of corporate communications for 25 countries across Asia.

We were based in Singapore and I was doing the best work of my 10-year career. Yet, suddenly, overnight, I went from being the blue-eyed girl who could do nothing wrong, to someone my boss just didn’t appreciate anymore. My self-confidence was shaken, and I had to dig much deeper to regain it.” She adds, “That journey of arriving at a deeper place from where I could feel worthy again, was the beginning of my spiritual journey and it has unravelled the most extraordinary life for me.” Different people have different ways of progressing, in this unique spiritual journey. Whatever be the cause for progress, however be the progress that takes place in the individual’s life, no one can deny that once the metamorphosis begins, every aspect of an individual’s life undergoes an absolute transformation. Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – awareness seeps in at all levels and the very being of the seeker undergoes a change. Expanding on this common change that everyone experiences, let’s explore what magic you can expect at the various levels of your existence while traversing upon the spiritual path. Transformations in the bodyAlmost every guru will agree with this statement: “A disease first begins in the mind and then spreads into the body.” No wonder, even when an entire city is seized by an epidemic there are a few who remain untouched. They seem to have some sort of an invisible vitality fountain within that keeps them protected from all ailments. If disease was purely a body effect then there would be no explanation, as to why one person falls prey while the other remains strong through it all. Nilima says, “One of the best ways to check whether you are progressing on the path is to see if your general sense of well-being has increased, if you feel more energetic and fall less ill than you used to.” Yes, a strong immune system can indeed be a barometer for spiritual progress. Most seekers also seem to have a younger, fresher looking face that seems to be untouched by any sort of toxic pollution – external or internal. However, paradoxically (whoever said the spiritual way is easy!), a disease can also be a spiritual signal that asks one to stop and introspect, giving way to a deeper, more meaningful realisation. In my case, for instance, when I was afflicted by sudden sharp headaches accompanied by severe bouts of dizziness, with no solutions from a wide variety of doctors and specialists,

I knew it was time to look within and understand where I was going wrong. Through the months of pain and anguish, I kept asking myself where I needed to improve in my thinking to heal my body. Finally the answer came. A deeply embedded pattern seeing myself as a martyr, one who could handle everything without help, was revealed to me.