Today I will talk about concepts that are extremely important for every seeker to know and understand. Try to pay attention and then make an effort to implement it in your life because an effort made correctly and systematically will invariably yield rapid and desired progress.

I am sure everyone is familiar with an axe. It has two main components, a sharp-edged metallic part and a wooden piece that holds it. Together they form a powerful combination capable of knocking down even the largest of trees and possessing the ability to clear away unwanted vegetation from vast pieces of land. Both components are required for an axe to be effective; neither the metallic portion alone, even when sharp, nor the wooden handle by itself can get the job done.

Just like the axe, the instrument required to cut down and clear away the unwanted and undesirable illusions and influences of the physical world that burden us, also has two components, practice (abhyas) and detachment (vairagya). Practice is akin to the metallic portion of the ax and is the component that clears our minds of the unwanted elements( mal) and cuts through the veils of ignorance (avarana). Vairagya ( detachment) functions like the wooden component of the ax and is the aid that helps practice (abhyas) accomplish its job. Just like an ax needs both components to be effective, practice ( abhyas) and vairagya( detachment) have to go hand in hand for us to succeed on this path of spiritual upliftment. If either is missing or suboptimal, success will elude us. Therefore, today, I will separately describe the rules and methods that apply to abhyas and vairagya. I hope that the knowledge of these will help everyone emulate the path traversed by the enlightened ones and situate them in a position to receive the Almighty’s blessings. First, I will talk about abhyas and subsequently, we will discuss vairagya.

Abhyas( practice)

It is extremely important for every seeker to have complete faith and belief in the system and principles laid out by the Guru. One should keep assessing and analyzing the system and method until this happens. When the belief firms up, then with complete faith, the practice should be initiated. Once commenced, it is vital that the practice be regular and not elapse even for a day. Regularly, day after day, one should keep practicing at a designated time. Missing even a single day’s practice results in the practitioner slipping some from the ground they had gained. If the practice is abandoned for days together, the practitioner gives up all the progress they had made and regresses back to the start line.

Serenity, purity, and cleanliness are essential accompaniments during prayer and efforts undertaken for spiritual progress. They apply to everything external and internal, including our clothes, place of prayer, body, and mind. The place where we practice should be clean and peaceful. It should be designated for prayer, not be used for any other purpose and should be devoid of excessive decorations.

While one can practice alone, practicing in a group yields faster results. Positive energy is abundant at the sites of group practice and prayer, one that significantly fecilitates receiving the Almighty’s grace. The benefit of group prayer and practice is described in many religions, including Christianity and Islam. The other name for a Spiritual practice performed in a group setting is Satsang.

Today, many believe that it is best to practice individually and when alone, but experience points to the contrary. When we practice as a group, the benefit to everyone amplifies. It does not double or quadruple but amplifies many more times than one would accrue with individual practice. When we practice as a group, the shortcoming of one gets rectified by the other, and the group’s collective effort becomes a powerful influence that very effectively invokes the Almighty,s blessings.

Along with complete faith, the right mindset ( Bhaav) and firm resolve( dridh nischaya) are also essential requisites for effective practice. It is only our mindset and thought process( Bhaav) during practice that determine the gain that will receive from the practice.

It is important not to sit in a haphazard formation or with extended legs during group practice or Satsang. To the extent that it is possible, people should sit in a circular configuration during group practice. This ensures that everyone receives the invoked positive energy simultaneously and equally, and the individual identities dissolve and combine as one unit.

Many sit for practice and prayer, hoping for the fulfillment of a wish or desiring a favorable outcome related to the physical world. Such a mindset diverts the benefits of the practice to temporary gains, far removed from the lasting benefits one should be seeking in practice.

A systematic practice, learned from an experienced and fully accomplished Guru connects one to the universal consciousness, the source of infinite light and knowledge. With this connection established, the seeker starts receiving a robust stream of positive energy in the form of light that falls on them, illuminates their heart and mind, and permeates their entire body.

Those who have experienced it describe it as light with a whitish or golden hue. But some will perceive it as a light of different colors. The reason for perceiving it in different colors is the following. The received light with a whitish shade first permeates and interacts with one’s soul and then gets reflected in the direction of the spiritual heart ( antah Karan). Here, the white light breaks down into different colors, much like a beam of light scattered into a spectrum of different colors by a prism. The color of the light perceived by a person is governed by the element that dominates in them.

This light from effective practice is perceived irrespective of whether one practices at night or during the day, and one will experience it even in a closed room where it effectively penetrates through the walls or closed doors.

Translated from Sadhakon ka Marg which means The Seeker’s Path written by Guru Maharaj, Dr. Chaturbhuj Sahay Ji. Published by Sadhan Press, the first 4 pages have been translated.