Excerpts from Complete Works

Volume 5 ~ Notes from Lectures and Discourses ~ Sadhanas or Preparations for Higher Life

.......tremendous determination to struggle a hundredfold more determination than that which you put forth to gain anything which belongs to this life, is the first great preparation.

And then along with it, there must be meditation. Meditation is the one thing. Meditate! The greatest thing is meditation. It is the nearest approach to spiritual life — the mind meditating. It is the one moment in our daily life that we are not at all material — the Soul thinking of Itself, free from all matter — this marvellous touch of the Soul!

Tremendous Power in Practice - Swami Virajanandaji

There is a Bengali saying: "Bring the food to my mouth; it is too much for me to move!  Bless your fathers and their meritorious acts!"  Nowadays, most people belong to that category.  Nobody wants to exert himself; everybody wants to gain his ends gratuitously or by some crafty trick.  Especially in regard to things spiritual people seek to avoid all effort and toil, which they dislike, and have everything done for them by others.  After sitting with closed eyes for an hour or so, for a few days or a few months, thy grumble and complain, "Alas! I am achieving nothing, I can't collect my mind; I don't feel I am making any progress." And so on.  Swamiji used to say, "Is god a vegetable, a bunch of spinach, or a fish, that you throw down a few coins and buy Him?"  Why be so impatient for immediate results?  Go On striving, and your effort will bear fruit of itself in the fullness of time.  Men of the world pay wages if you work for them; and will not God do so if you work for Him?  Faith, steadfastness, sincere love, patience and perseverance are needed.  Does a seed sprout up into a tree and bear fruit as soon as it is planted?  One has to bestow much toil and attention and continue to do this for a long while before one can reap the fruits in due season.

 
The Reality cannot be attained if one is impatient.  The supreme Self-alone is the only reality, essence and Truth; and everything else – the manifested universe – is unreal, no essence and deceptive, and therefore fit only to be rejected.  Great patience and perseverance are needed for the knowledge of this fact to become established.
 

Even if there are not many good past impressions, favorable ones can be created by virtue of constant effort, earnestness and practice.  There is tremendous power in practice.  Practice becomes firm and abiding if continued long and uninterruptedly with faith and devotion.  Whatever you practice becomes in course of time your second nature.  Then it is no longer necessary to exert yourself to accomplish a desired thing, for it is automatically done.  If you continually practice the remembrance of God, prayer, Japa and meditation, they then come out from the heart, without the exercise of any conscious will or effort, even while you are engaged in other work.  The mind remains pointed that way like the needle of a compass.  Hence attachment to worldly objects disappears and dangers and calamities cannot ruffle the mind of such a person.  Even at the moment of death the mind remains calm and absorbed in God.  Such a one has not to be born and to die again and again, as he becomes merged in the supreme state of Beatitude.

 

Practice japa and austerities with all your heart as much as you can.  You should, however, have it firmly fixed in your mind that God can be realized solely through His grace, and not as a result of your practicing so much Japa and austerities.  Spiritual practices are meant merely for tiring the wings, so to speak.  A bird wants to rest as soon as its wings are tired.  After flying far out over the sea, the bird discovers that there is no other resting place except the mast of a ship, as it perches there.  But unless the feeling tat God is the only refuge grows into an unshakable conviction, no one can take shelter completely in Him and know Him to be his all-in-all.

 

Onward! Onward! Do not look this way or that.  Do not pay the slightest heed to psychic phenomena like the seeing of light or visions, etc.  As you continue practicing meditation, varieties of such occult experiences may come of themselves, and you may see all manner of supernatural things and also derive some joy from them.  But do not stick there; for in that case you will never be able to progress much further.  Always keep your whole attention fixed on the Ideal; and let your whole desire and aim be how to increase your devotion and love for God, how to merge your mind in Him and how to gain direct realization of Him in this life.

 

Go on practicing Japa and meditation with great devotion, perseverance and patience.  Gradually the mind will become tranquil and meditation will deepen.  You will feel a craving for your meditation, so that if you fail to do it any day, everything will taste insipid and you will feel out of joint and extremely uneasy, like and addict mission his drug at the accustomed hour.  You will long to remain immersed in meditation, alone.

Source : Toward the Goal Supreme; Swami Virajananda

Excerpts from CW.

Volume 4/Translation: Prose/Knowledge: Its Source and Acquirement

True, that spiritual illumination shines of itself in a pure heart, and, as
such, it is not something acquired from without; but to attain this purity
of heart means long struggle and constant practice.

What we call extraordinary, superconscious inspiration is only the result of
a higher development of ordinary consciousness, gained by long and continued
effort. The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is merely
one  of  degree  in  manifestation.  Conscious efforts lead the way to
superconscious illumination.


Infinite perfection is in every man, though unmanifested. Every man has in
him the potentiality of attaining to perfect saintliness, Rishihood, or to
the most exalted position of an Avatâra, or to the greatness of a hero in
material discoveries. It is only a question of time and adequate well-guided
investigation, etc., to have this perfection manifested.

Excerpt from Bhakti Yoga - Swami Vivekananda

The mind should always go towards God. No
other things have any right to withhold it. It should continuously think of
God, though this is a very hard task; yet it can be done by persistent
practice.  What  we are now is the result of our past practice. Again,
practice makes us what we shall be. So practice the other way; one sort of
turning round has brought us this way, turn the other way and get out of it
as soon as you can. Thinking of the senses has brought us down here — to cry
one moment, to rejoice the next, to be at the mercy of every breeze, slave
to everything. This is shameful, and yet we call ourselves spirits. Go the
other way, think of God; let the mind not think of any physical or mental
enjoyment, but of God alone. When it tries to think of anything else, give
it a good blow, so that it may turn round and think of God. As oil poured
from one vessel to another falls in an unbroken line, as chimes coming from
a distance fall upon the ear as one continuous sound, so should the mind
flow towards God in one continuous stream. We should not only impose this
practice on the mind, but the senses too should be employed. Instead of
hearing foolish things, we must hear about God; instead of talking foolish
words, we must talk of God. Instead of reading foolish books, we must read
good ones which tell of God.

Gospel of Holy Mother

Since death has no fixed hours, one should perform holy duties as
soon as an opportunity comes. P. 332 The Gospel of The Holy Mother

Gospel of Holy Mother

Regularity in spiritual practice should be observed, no matter how
busy one may be with worldly matters. P. 322 The Gospel of The Holy
Mother

Gems of Gospel of Holy Mother

When worldly thoughts crop up in your mind, and they possess it, then
you should go away from the company of others and pray to Him with
tears in your eyes. He will remove all the dross of your mind, and
will also give you understanding. P. 214 The Gospel of The Holy Mother

The Gospel of The Holy Mother

If the mind is kept engaged in some work, it doesn't indulge in silly
thoughts. But if you sit idle, the mind is likely to indulge in
various kinds of thoughts. P. 214