Signs of progress on the spiritual path By Ac. Maheshvarananda Avt. Meditation (Sadhana) is an internal path. We cannot measure our spiritual progress with a material yardstick. So how can we know if our meditation is working? How can we measure our progress? How can we know if we are succeeding? Our path is not ritualistic, with actions prescribed for show. Therefore, we also cannot use social measurements, such as attendance at religious programs or public displays of piousness, as indicators of spiritual progress. For example, strings of prayer beads are used in the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Catholic traditions. The principle in all is the same: while fingering each bead the follower remembers a mantra or prayer or holy word. Though using beads may help one to remember God, in public they also foster pride and spiritual vanity. Baba encouraged us to silently remember our mantra as often as possible, but not to finger beads (rudraksa mala) in public. The indicators of spiritual progress are internal. Through introspection and self-analysis, we can judge our progress and the degree to which we have transformed ourselves. For Tantra Sadhana, Baba said, "is the path from imperfection to perfection." Below I have listed some signs of spiritual realization that were given by Baba, and others that were suggested by senior sadhakas. Let us examine ourselves honestly and rededicate our lives to striving for these noble ideals. Instead of enjoying talk about mundane things, spiritualists are more interested to discuss spirituality. We seek the company of other devotees (satsaung), and are eager to hear devotional stories and participate in spiritual conversation. This becomes like our spiritual food. Our actions, words and thoughts become the same. This straightforwardness (rjuta) creates a tremendous internal moral force. It creates an internal glow on our subconscious. Spiritualists do not lie to avoid personal difficulties. They fulfill their promises. If circumstances prevent us from doing so in time, we must approach the person or group to whom we made the promise and ask for more time or to be released from our promise. Baba once emphasized this by saying, "Your words should be more important to you than your life." "Simple and sincere" was one of the highest compliments Baba gave. Simplicity includes reducing one's expenditure and one’s desires. We must constantly prevent our mind from running after worldly objects or indulging in unnecessary things. We must follow the principle of Aparigraha ever more strictly. Spiritualists overcome personal thoughts of selfishness and greed with generosity. They look for ways to serve others and try to sacrifice for the welfare of others. Here, as with the other ways, we are transforming our basic nature from selfishness to selflessness. Baban - Shrii Shrii Anandamurti - often praised two special qualities of women: that of ideal mother and nurse. Both ideals imply loving service and sacrificing our personal concerns for those in need of our care. We become more introversive and less extroversive. We avoid unnecessary talk and use our words more carefully to talk about spirituality and to help others. We realize that the most beautiful devotional experiences cannot be expressed in words. Rationality stops where true spirituality begins, because the intellect cannot function in the higher layers of the mind (kosas). Creativity, non-attachment, spiritual discrimination and devotional sentiment all depend on developed intuition, not logic and reasoning. We feel happiness at the happiness of others, and pain at the pain of others (karuna). It is necessary to overcome our natural tendency to feel jealous at the success of others and satisfaction at their difficulties and problems. The true spirit of service (Narayanacit seva) is that we see God in the people we serve, and we feel a real sense of happiness when we can help make them happy. Good people feel happy when they are with a true spiritualist. They experience joy similar to being in the presence of Baba. Baba once said, "I want that all good people should like you. But I did not say 'everyone'. Bad people will not like you." An indisciplined person cannot be a spiritualist. We develop ever more internal discipline for our spiritual practices and we lead a balanced life. This is why the Sixteen Points are so essential for our spiritual progress. We find less happiness with worldly things and more happiness in spiritual practices; so we devote more time to them. Our spiritual success is directly proportional to the time we devote to our spiritual and devotional practices. We remember our Guru Mantra more times every day. By singing kiirtan more and repeating our Ista Mantra more, we can reach the state of constant ideation (ajapa japa). We become eternally optimistic, always positive. Both heaven and hell exist within the mind. With a positive mind, we can constantly experience inner bliss, even in the most difficult and painful situations. Internally we remain calm even in situations of extreme stress and danger. We offer solace and peace to those in anguish. When we suffer setbacks, we must positively resolve to redouble our efforts until we make up the loss. We develop a universal outlook by respecting everyone. See the bright side of everyone. The radius of our love expands to other people, animals, plants and the whole universe in the spirit of Neo-Humanism. Baba again set the highest example of this. He showed great respect to even illiterate spiritualists and devotees, while remaining unmoved by selfish appeals of the rich and powerful. His poignant words in the dedication of Liberation of Intellect: Neo-Humanism exemplify this: "To those who think for all… Who offer others seats of honor and respect… Who venerate others, instead of waiting to be venerated… To them I dedicate this book with humble esteem and deepest salutations." There are also some indications of spiritual progress that we may experience in our sadhana. Sometimes we may hear an internal sound caused by our kundalinii crossing our own cakras. These inner sounds include the tinkling of bells, the roar of the ocean, a celestial flute. We might also notice beautiful smells like rose or sandalwood arising internally from our sadhana. We may also have a spiritual experience, or a type of samadhi. These are Baba's ways of giving us a taste of spiritual realization to inspire us to continue in our practices. For example, once while helping at the LFT Training Center in Bali, Indonesia, I found myself hearing voices singing "Baba Nam Kevalam" in my mind. The sound gave me a wonderful joy, and it continued for three days and nights without pause. I listened blissfully to this kiirtan while meditating, while giving class, while eating, while bathing, and even when I awoke in the middle of the night. I naturally spoke as little as I could so that I could enjoy the sound more. After three days, the kiirtan stopped as mysteriously as it had started. Obviously this spiritual experience was a miraculous gift of grace from the Lord. It came without reason, yet gave me a tremendous inspiration to do more sadhana. The qualities of the Fifteen Shiilas are some of the best indicators of spiritual progress: magnanimity of mind, perpetual restraint of behavior and temper, forgiveness, etc. For example, Baba asked what would happen if someone gave one mango to you and another to your friend; and when you cut them open you found that yours was rotten inside? You should feel happy that your friend received the sweet mango! This, Baba said, is an example of magnanimity of mind. We become able to inspire people to transform their lives and become spiritualists, too. When He explained the four stages of sadhana, Baba emphasized that when one has reached the final stage of meditation (Vashiikara), he or she "can inspire millions." We achieve results in our work for Ananda Marga. This is because the secret of organizational out turn is to become an instrument of the Supreme through our spiritual practices. For example, the Catholic mystic Saint Francis prayed, "O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace." When we surrender our personal ambitions and purify ourselves through our spiritual practices, then the Supreme can work effectively through us. The desire for name and fame must be overcome by becoming humble and by giving respect to everyone. Baba also prescribed dancing Kiirtan with ones' hands held high to cure ego. The last, most difficult obstacles are greed, anger and desire. All these are biologically based in the vrttis. They cannot be suppressed; rather they must be channeled through our practices. We develop a profound sense of gratitude, a feeling of thanksgiving for the Lord. We give up the natural desire for worldly pleasures and comforts. Instead we want only to please the Supreme. Devotion (Kevala Bhakti) is the highest state of spiritual realization.