For rapid spiritual
progress, the seeker should undertake the spiritual practice of the next level
of spiritual maturity that follows the one he is at presently. This principle
is elaborated in the following table:
| Spiritual Level % |
Spiritual Practice |
| 20 |
Absent |
| 30 |
Physical Worship - such as Ritualistic
Worship (fasting, performing sacrificial fires, attending mass service in church,
offering namaz, etc.), visiting places of Worship, reading Holy Texts. |
| 40 |
Mental Worship - chanting* the Lord's Name |
| 50 |
Remaining in Satsang |
| 55 |
Service to the Absolute Truth (Satseva)
and being blessed by a Guru’s grace. |
| 60 |
Sacrifice of wealth (Tyag) |
| 70 |
Unconditional spiritual love (Priti) |
| 80 |
Stance of a spectator (Sakshibhav) |
| 90 |
Mission after Self-Realization |
Spiritual love
Spiritual love is love without expectations. There are expectations in worldly
love. By practicing Spirituality, the spiritual purity (Sattva) in the seeker
increases. As a result, he develops a tendency to make everyone and everything
around him happy. His love becomes expansive and he begins to feel spiritual
love for others. As the seeker progresses, he perceives the presence of God in
everything and the whole world as one big family. He starts experiencing the
overwhelming spiritual emotion that, ‘The whole Universe is my home’.
To achieve this level of spiritual love, initially,
one has to make efforts to love others unconditionally, for which it is important
to remain in Satsang (Holy company, such as a gathering of spiritual seekers).
Stages
of spiritual love
At first, one feels spiritual love for other seekers attending a Satsang
or seekers on the same spiritual path as one. One then feels spiritual love for seekers on spiritual paths other than
one’s own. Later, one starts feeling spiritual love even towards non-seekers. Finally, one starts feeling spiritual love for all Creation, including
even those considered evil.
|
