![]() The real prayer to the Lord is submitting ourselves to the Lord … Many years ago, a story was told of a man who once wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that he did not see how it helped him … Imagine that you are in a fort with no doors and you wish to gather around all that will ensure your happiness … Recently at an English satsang, the speaker said something quite thought provoking … The Master or the Satguru who initiates a disciple, from the moment of initiation, does always take charge of him and keeps on watching, but the … Long is the way and soon will end the day. Loitering midway, you will come to misery. Reach home, and from fear and doubt be free Treasure the chance, don’t falter or lose heart The hours are fleeting and long is your trail. Carpe Diem – who knows what tomorrow will bring. We can only ride on the wings of his grace by putting in genuine effort in our spiritual life. There is no perfect formula and no shortcut to our destination. These make strong impressions on the mind and will be the first things that will come to mind when we try to concentrate. To create a state of mind that is conducive to meditation, we can consciously try to abstain from anything that promotes anger, lust and tension. The choices that we make, and the actions that we take are guided by our thoughts. Our mind by nature is very impressionable, and quickly absorbs all types of stimuli. We also have to filter carefully what we expose ourselves to every day. We must have self-discipline and make some sacrifices so that priority is given to this aspect of our lives. Likewise we need to prepare for our spiritual journey by adjusting our lifestyle so that we can make time for meditation rather than fit it in as an afterthought. So what can we do to seriously take heed of the Master’s advice? When we take any other type of worldly journey, we plan and prepare we make sure we have everything that we need to make the trip successful. We develop the strength, will power and fortitude required to go through life experiences that are a result of the unfolding of our karma. When our attention is in the now, it is difficult for us to be trapped by our own mind. By helping us become still, present and concentrated in the now, meditation is a great training. When we live in the present, we become fully alive as our consciousness reaches far beyond the limitations of our ego. The mystics explain to us that meditation itself is an exercise in being here and now. If we simply observed how much time we spend on our mobile phones, tablets and computers, we would be very surprised to learn how much of that precious time was actually wasted. The irony is that although we have acquired many so called ‘time saving’ devices and instant modes of communication, we have also become enslaved by them, thereby eliminating many of their benefits. But in today’s fast-paced world, this somehow does not seem adequate. ![]() The mystics say that it is the minimum time required to break through the surface level of ordinary consciousness and raise it to the eye centre where our true journey begins.Īre we living up to our commitment? We have the rest of the day to deal with our needs and responsibilities. This daily practice of two and a half hours, dedicated to stilling the mind at the eye centre, is not an arbitrary length of time chosen at random by the Master. In addition to following the three other vows, we voluntarily pledged to devote ten percent of our day to this most important task. We committed to doing two and a half hours of daily meditation. We began the journey when the Master blessed us with the gift of initiation. A journey that will take us back to our source, our Father, where we can finally experience true and lasting joy. They maintain that this lifetime is not a mere coincidence for us to simply eat, drink and be merry, but a valuable opportunity to prepare and embark upon the most important journey we will ever undertake. All we have is the present moment, today, here and now, and there is no guarantee of a tomorrow. They tell us that it is critical that we stop procrastinating and wasting our precious breaths by dwelling on the past, worrying about the future and immersing ourselves obsessively in our temporal affairs. ![]() The urgency of this phrase perfectly captures the message that the mystics and saints have been conveying to us throughout the ages by sharing their experiences, teachings and even their personal life examples. This Latin aphorism means, ‘seize the day’.
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