Guidance from the Guru

(Letter 11)

Swami Tapovan Maharaj

Om Narayana Smriti

Uttarkasi,
3-12-1952

Writing with Narayana smriti and affection.

Your letter. The great pleasure evident on receiving good advice from mahatmas reveals deep and intense faith and desire to learn.

Good. But such pleasure is after all relative by nature and temporary. What is absolute and lasting is the pleasure that one experiences when the advice is acted upon successfully.

Don’t give way to despair or grief because of failures during the training period. Don’t get depressed. Believe failure is only a gate keeper to success. But for failure, ‘success’ will lose its meaning. Without losing heart at failure, if you take it as incentive to further effort, you will enter the citadel of victory sooner or later, today or tomorrow.

One must overcome the attraction to the outer world as well as the temptation to sense enjoyments by means of wise discretion and strong dispassion. Even if such discretion and dispassion are lacking, spiritual aspirants who believe in God cannot be utterly ignorant and therefore their desire and covetousness will remain within bounds without getting unrestrained and sinful. They will flow along only desirable and virtuous courses. That cannot be very dangerous. Yet, it impedes quick growth in spiritual sadhanas. It is therefore better for spiritual aspirants to avoid external activity as far as possible, even if it is not against virtue, even if it not sinful.

It is the despair of a mind that longs for relief from all external activities and yet is compelled involuntarily to indulge in them that is suggested by your letter. You are now in grhastashrama. Those in that ashrama may find certain worldly activities unavoidable. What is more, there will be relations and friends clinging to them. Considering these circumstances householders must acquire the ability and skill to attend to worldly duties as far as possible, with patience, mental poise and cheerfulness. Do them as duties without any desire for reward. If that is the case with sannyasins who consider themselves as completely detached, what need be said of common householders? He who works on the field less or more must patiently bear the heat of the sun in proportion. It is not enough if we shake off actions; actions must leave us off. Till then worldly activities will not leave us altogether.

All else well. Wish you well.

Swami Tapovanam