Calmess and Courage

Three types can be recognized among those who seek to do good deeds and tread the path of self-realization - those who are too frightened by troubles, losses, and difficulties to even begin the endeavor; they are of the lowest type. The next are those who, after having undertaken the journey and gone some distance, are depressed and defeated by obstacles and disappointments and give up in the middle; they are of the middling type. Lastly, those who steadfastly adhere to the path with calmness and courage, whatever the nature of the travail or however hard the road; these are, of course, of the highest type. This steadfastness, faith and constancy, is the characteristic of the devotee. You may be deluded by attachment to this illusory world and attracted by temporal joy, but never barter away the means of achieving permanent and complete happiness. And carry on your spiritual duties with full devotion.

Baba discriminates between three types of people, those who are too frightened and don’t even begin with and he calls that the lowest type.  

Three types can be recognized among those who seek to do good deeds and tread the path of self-realization - those who are too frightened by troubles, losses, and difficulties to even begin the endeavor; they are of the lowest type.

For my experience after I began it was not possible to stop anymore, so I actually sometimes think when I am not feeling good and nothing seems to work out as it should that I should never have had the courage to begin with, but as we did it long ago there is no way to go back and to not do it.  

We began on the path of meditation and on the way there was no stop and the negative experiences felt like hell and it was not possible to stop and we had to get aware of it that it was not the right path and there was a reason for it and it took a long time to get aware of it. It was not exactly a joyful experience and we didn’t expect that we had to get aware that it was not right and what was not right and after thinking that we did the right thing and everything felt wonderful and perfect and it had a big value in our life and we get aware that something was missing and that it was not as we would have liked it to be and that on this level we would not get the right answer. We got it finally with Baba and he came from the inside and enlivened the ideal, the principle in it and by that we get aware of the real value in it, but there was no chance whatsoever to get to that insight on that path alone, it is only due to Baba that it is finally understood right.

But it was real hard and bad surprise when we had to get aware that it was not what we had hoped it would be or what we were told what it should be.

The next are those who, after having undertaken the journey and gone some distance, are depressed and defeated by obstacles and disappointments and give up in the middle; they are of the middling type.

If we feel depressed and defeated by obstacles and disappointments it is actually not that easy to go on and people go into distance, if the experience of it is never right.

Depression is taking the enthusiasm away and usually there are also doubts and if we don’t know how to clear doubts, we don’t know how to go on and give up in the middle. If Baba tells us there are those middling types it feels also difficult, because nobody gives up without reason.

When it is about truth and we watch and get aware of it, we cannot really give up, but it can be a heavy feeling to realize that we have to go on no matter what obstacles are there. Or we feel that it is not as it should be and we have to find out why. As Baba tells us first discrimination, second seeing it in our own life and third we have to go on no matter what obstacles are there. It can be that seeing it in our own life first we are not aware that we are in the mind, we go on until we get aware of it and afterwards we will be able to use discrimination and therefore, we have to go on no matter what obstacles are there.

Our mind is in the background always getting to silent conclusions and it is understood that it has to be like that, when in reality it is not like that and we have to get aware of the illusion of it, Maya is based on a wrong mind conclusion.

We cannot give up, also not when something is in the air coming up again and again because it has not been addressed before and it is not possible to address it openly and we do not know what it is, we have to first find a way to address it and in a way that it doesn’t disturb all others.  

Years ago Baba said in the dream, it is ‘passion, stay alone’.  And I was carefully staying alone, because I didn’t know what it was. There were different issues and activities and it was like someone wanted to force me into it and I had to stay out of it and alone. It is like during our study circle it came up again this time and we had to address it. Yesterday after the study circle the good feeling was back, it was like in Prasanthi Nilayam, that wonderful silence was in the air and the circle was a circle and a good experience. It felt really like after Darshan and between Darshans and Bhajans when people were silently sitting waiting for Baba to come out of the mandir again. That means it felt like Baba’s presence and it is such a good feeling.

One of the present ladies was like melting away during our circle and she always talked in between giving in her new insight, but she didn’t disturb really, when the others didn’t say anything and one moment she said, but Baba is present, now I just felt it, it was great. He is always present we just have to get aware of it, but that is the type of experience we are looking for.

When it feels disturbed and whatever it is, it felt like troublemakers, it is of no use to be just nice and say nothing or to impose on myself that I should be in love, when in reality it is not so and it feels disturbed.

But it is also not possible to address it directly in the circle without being a troublemaker as well.

So we had to find a way to address the disturbance without disturbing everybody and to make it worse and first we had to get aware of it, we were not even aware what it was. If it creates disturbances for the others, it is of no use.  It was a couple and we had to get in touch with them directly, but that was also not easy, because he is avoiding it since years and so we had to do it somehow, indirectly.

We don’t feel like Baba’s presence if there is something wrong or we are in the mind. That we felt like Prasanthi Nilayam afterwards and it was a good feeling, it felt like some purification going on behind before and it was done.  

 The passion was in one of them and that is how we get aware of it. We should not allow differenced to get bigger between people, but what to do if people are not aware of it? And they were not aware of it. It seems to me that quite a bit of people are in distance just because of that reason, whatever problem it was in the past, it was not addressed properly or there were too many unrealistic expectations and people stay in distance because of that reason.

The study circle is also a way of purification; every spiritual practice has the aim to purify the mind to get into a state of sathva. In fact it was not such a pleasant task to tell them that it was passion and not okay and that is the level of troublemakers and to feel Baba’s presence again it has to be sathva. If it is about truth, that truth is ‘passion’ and not sathva and Baba is only sathva and we had to do it as ‘right action’ and not avoid it, but it was also not possible to address it directly, it was hidden and it had over the years become bigger and it was like hidden aggression and not solved problems felt as disturbance and it had to be addressed, but how when we don’t even know anymore what it is and who did it?

It has to be done in a way of Sadhana, understanding peace and as it was related to the study circle, it was about the study circle. As I have to take care of it that the study circle is a circle and not something else, we can learn from it.

Lastly, those who steadfastly adhere to the path with calmness and courage, whatever the nature of the travail or however hard the road; these are, of course, of the highest type.

We have to do with calmness and courage, if we are not calm, we will also get into passion and discussions and whatever the nature of the travail or however hard the road, we have to adhere to it steadfastly.

I felt bad and disturbed and that bad, I thought I was not able to go on like that and I didn’t know where it came from. If we are just believing in good manners and that we should always be in ‘love’ only, as we hear sometimes unrealistic statements of devotees hoping to remain in an undisturbed state, what is not possible, they would have avoided it. And years ago nobody said something and it went on like that, they thought if there were difficulties it was also Baba and that is how passion could take over.

This steadfastness, faith and constancy, is the characteristic of the devotee. You may be deluded by attachment to this illusory world and attracted by temporal joy, but never barter away the means of achieving permanent and complete happiness. And carry on your spiritual duties with full devotion.

What was important was also to understand the path of peace. It has to be done a certain way and we have to find that way so that nobody gets more offended by passion and before we just sat down and meditated and that changed the mind, but here we cannot do that, it has to be done another way.

Our leading singer is also playing the harmonium and taking care of the Bhajans and she expressed experiences of happiness, not about job, but when she looks at nature, she begins to get aware of the ‘perfect orderliness’ on that unchanging level and the beauty in it.  As she is a lot singing and that Sadhana has become part of her, when getting in touch with the reality of non-changing truth and always the same and the beauty begins to radiate in nature, we actually should listen to Baba to find the right words for it.

If we don’t listen how can we express it and how do we find the right words? But if we listen carefully to Baba, we are able to express our experience with his words and it begins to make sense. It was a great experience the feeling of silence in the air and the feeling of Prasanthi Nilayam. If we listen to him, it is purification of the mind and the intellect, we learn to see it his way and that is the best experience of all. That makes it permanent and unchanging and true.

As soon as we get it, there is nothing more to tell, but to be it and he is telling us how.

You may be deluded by attachment to this illusory world and attracted by temporal joy, but never barter away the means of achieving permanent and complete happiness. And carry on your spiritual duties with full devotion.

Nobody can tell it a more beautiful way than he does … and we feel the love in his caring words.