Meditation is a very ancient technique that gives man access to the treasures of God which are in his heart. Its purpose is to create a channel of communication between the physical body and the soul, then with the Atma. There are several techniques for meditation, but we will not list them here.
Besides creating a channel between the upper and lower parts of our being, meditation calms the mind, refines the emotions and purifies the physical body, so that the outer man progressively becomes receptive to the influence of the soul. This results in the development of intuition which manifests itself more and more frequently. More and more often the disciple experiences a certain inner peace which he had never felt before, and which becomes stronger as he practices meditation. He then becomes more tolerant and loving.
It is Said That Patience is a Virtue!
With time, if the disciple meditates regularly, one day the outer man and the soul merge and become one, resulting in the soul’s perfectly ruling the outer man. It must be known that it is necessary to live many lives before these results are manifested, for in nature everything develops slowly. That is why one has to be very patient. Concerning this point, the Masters advise us to always practice meditation without seeking any results, for it is sure that once we have followed the programme given, this will ineluctably bear fruit in due time, when God sees that the disciple is ready... Maharajji usually says that it is little by little that the disciple becomes transformed. In fact, when the disciple meditates, inner transformation takes place in his subtle bodies and in what is called chakras. (We have already indicated in a preceding article how much it is dangerous to try to artificially develop one’s chakras through “miraculous” experiences found in books or on the advice of people who do not know what they are doing”.)
The Master sees these transformations with his divine eyes before they manifest outer effects. However, the disciple himself notices nothing in the beginning; he therefore concludes that nothing is happening and often becomes discouraged. This is a common mistake. Practising sadhana is like a farmer sowing seeds in the soil. When he has finished this simple work, nothing seems to happen in the first few days. But the farmer knows from experience what will take place, and so does not become impatient. He does what is necessary, i.e. weed the ground and prevent the seeds from being eaten by birds and small animals. He then waits as long as necessary, and in general after a few days, a small, frail plant comes up out of the soil, on its way irresistibly up towards the heights! The farmer was not worried before the germination, because he knows that seeds go through different phases of transformation in the soil, and that this entire cycle must be completed before the shoot appears above the ground.
Cumulations of the Past
Of course, we see that certain disciples get results quickly, and seem to progress extremely rapidly. This is not due to a miracle or to God showing favouritism, for God is never unfair, and basically miracles do not exist. What seems to us to be rapid progress is due to the fact that these disciples had already attained or got close to those levels in their past lives and so in this life, they simply get back up to that level first of all, before going beyond it, if they pursue their sadhana. Indeed, in each life, one must first of all get back up to the level one had in one’s last life before progressing when one becomes an adult. In fact, the different bodies of a child cannot bear the high vibrations of the soul and consequently, the spiritual level reached in the last life is toned down.
Nothing is Better than a Sure Guide
It can be added that the best thing is to practice meditation under the guidance of one's Master. Certain people will reply that they do not need a Master because they find meditation techniques in books and that all they need to do is just use them, and then all is fine! We will ask these people if they want to visit or cross a forest in an unknown country if it is better to just trust the descriptions given by friends, follow information given in a guide book, or rather go with a person from that region who knows the forest well? Everyone will agree that is is better to choose a guide from the region rather than descriptions from friends or books, however detailed they may be!
And why have we drawn a parallel between meditation and visiting or crossing a forest? Simply because when one meditates, one’s consciousness goes on high planes which are not the physical plane one is used to. So one needs to be guided by a person who is used to being there and who knows them as we know the physical plane. Furthermore, there are certain ways of meditating which can be prejudicial to the disciple. If he has a Master, the latter will step in on the subtle planes to correct these errors.
In Good Hands
Maharajji intervenes in that way from time to time to help his disciples when it is necessary to set right certain situations, whether the disciples be in Rishikesh or at the other end of the world, for his divine eye constantly watches over his disciples. This help can be given through intuition, dreams or direct spiritual perception. If the disciple has spiritual faculties which are developed enough, he can then clearly hear the voice of the Master recommending that he do this or that or correct some wrong way of doing things. But that is not all. The Master is also the one who, when he judges that the disciple has made sufficient progress, gives him additional spiritual energy to raise his consciousness up to a level which the latter alone would never have been able to reach.
The Flowers of Ardent Aspiration
Naturally, for different reasons, certain seekers will not be able to leave their country to go and find a Master living in India or elsewhere. In that case, through spiritual aspiration, prayer and devotion towards the Master one has chosen, one places oneself under his spiritual guidance. The Master is an essentially spiritual being and he knows who, in the entire world, aspires to be guided by him. So if the seeker is worthy, the Master will guide and protect him even if they have never met each other in this life. We have reported such a case in this blog with the story of the Dutch nun in the section “His Disciples’ Stories”. This nun had never physically met Maharajji, but he guided her whenever necessary. Many sincere seekers have successfully experienced this solution. On the other hand, if it is possible to go and see the Master, nothing is better than to go and spend some time with him, for he can better help a student who is available for a short time, free from the daily cares of the world.
Indeed, here we are speaking about energies, and these energies can only be given by the Master when conditions are right, otherwise the opposite results may happen. Seriously ill people are only operated on by doctors when the requirements for hygiene and whatever is necessary for the operation are met, so as not to put the patient’s life in danger. Masters act in the same way. They cannot grant too great a quantity of energy to a person who is deeply immersed in the world, drinks alcohol regularly (one could give other examples of ways of living which are dangerous when one wants to attain high planes of consciousness), whose mind is not calm or who does not sufficiently master his emotions. When one is near a Master, one usually makes an effort to be pure enough and this makes the transmission of energies easier.
Do not do one thing and its opposite
One last thing before finishing this article. Formerly, people who wanted to practice meditation and a sadhana, generally retired to monasteries, caves or isolated places to escape from the turmoil of life and solicitations of all kinds. This is no longer what is suitable today. Maharajji says that we should practice spirituality wherever we are, and at the same time carry out our duties to society. Each cycle has its requirements. However, this advice does not mean that someone who wants to progress spiritually can give in to whatever goes on in this modern world. One must be, as the saying goes, “in the world but not of it”. Indeed, certain habits are not conducive to progress, in particular indulging in a lot of alcohol, too much meat, too much sensual practices, being too materialistic. Here, it is not a case of morality for, generally speaking, morality is only a deformed image of a natural law which has not been perceived clearly. If we say that these above practices are contrary to progress, that is because they weigh down the subtle bodies instead of refining them. Therefore to indulge in them while following one’s sadhana is like wanting to go somewhere and then taking one step forward and two backwards. What will the result be?
Having said that, all those who up to now have been living like that are not less worthy to start a sadhana than others. Who can throw a stone at his brother, don’t we all go through that stage? What is important is to progressively break with the habits of the past. In the end, Mary Magdalene whose life had not been a model of virtue before the meeting with Jesus, turned out to be more virtuous than certain disciples who had been with the Christ in Palestine from the very beginning ... It is the devotion which one shows to the Path, the Master and to God which counts and not what one is today. When one has a lot of devotion, weaknesses are easily overcome!
May Maharajji’s peace be with all!
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