There are no external signs to mark out a God-realized saint. He does not grow a horn. But he is always full of bliss. He is happy under all conditions. No miracles can be expected from him, as a matter of course. But they are sometimes done by him by God’s will, without his intention to perform them.
Satsang or association with a saint is indeed valuable. But it must be of the right kind. Internal contact must be established. Otherwise there is danger of the aspirant’s mind getting externalized and remaining attached to the physical person of the saint, missing the impersonal Truth which the saint embodies. Without reaching the depths of the inner Reality represented by the saint, one cannot reap the full benefits of Satsang.
One must take care not fall into the error of thinking that a saint’s grace can be won by adoring merely his body and serving him without looking upon all beings as his expressions and serving them with an equal vision. There is nothing more dangerous to an aspirant than narrow, personal attitude. His progress depends on the extent to which he is able to expand his heart and universalize his outlook.
One cannot rise beyond a certain stage of spiritual advancement if he is bound to any institution. In spiritual matters, the best rules are those which are not made by others but self-imposed – by the Guru form within. A tree does not grow in the shade of another tree, but gets stunted. It can grow fully only in the open. So also you must have a free and open atmosphere for your spiritual growth.
One may receive light and inspiration from saints and sages, but one must have an atmosphere of freedom in which to develop one’s nature, independent of all external interference or guidance. By depending always on guidance from without the disciple does not look within and rely on God who dwells in the heart.
So get inspiration from saints, but do not think of taking shelter permanently in any Ashram. Live alone in a free atmosphere. Then God within will lead you. The indwelling God is none other than your Guru who initiated you from outside as a human being. Guru is the immortal, all-pervading Spirit. Never look upon him as a mere person. If you develop this attitude from the beginning, you will realize that the Guru never dies. You will never feel his absence as he is eternally within you.
Renunciation
It is not by mere external renunciation that one attains God. There are so may who have externally renounced and gone to the forests but have not realized Him. It is not necessary that one should externally renounce anything. It is not the outer condition that matters so much as one’s inner state of mind.
If we dedicate our life to God and live in His light, it does not matter where we live. We can live in the family and still realize Him, because God is everywhere and not only in forests and caves. He is in us, with us and all about us. To seek Him, we need not go anywhere.
The examples of Buddha, Chaitanya and Vivekananda are not for all to follow. They are rare cases in which God made them renounce the external ties also so that they might freely serve all mankind.
When God wants us to undertake such a glorious mission, by all means, let us not resist the current when it comes to sweep away our narrow limitations. Sri Krishna and Janaka in their lives have shown that even for the work of Lokasangraha, the normal duties of life that fall to our lot need not be abandoned. To attain Moksha for oneself, willful breaking off from external ties is not at all necessary.
Excerpted from ‘Thus Speaks Ramdas’ published by Anandashram
Swami Ramdas
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