Some people think that doing
some prayers, reading a few Holy verses, or performing ritualistic worship (puja)
for a few minutes daily is spiritual practice. They feel that that itself is
spiritual practice, and that people who follow this daily spiritual routine are
seekers of God. However, many people are unaware of true spiritual practice and
the qualities of a true seeker.
Not every body that chants* the Name of The Lord for
a few minutes daily, attends spiritual meetings occasionally, or performs some
service unto the Truth when time permits, can be called a seeker. Many people
undertake spiritual activities like chanting or meditation to overcome certain
problems like financial or marital trouble, or to gain some material benefit
like conceiving a child, getting rid of some ailment, etc.
A seeker is one who puts in efforts daily for spiritual progress with the
definite goal of God-realization and who actually undergoes spiritual growth.
The qualities one needs to have in order to be a seeker are faith, perseverance,
obeying the spiritually evolved and immediately putting into practice what one
learns from the spiritually evolved. These qualities can be seen in the lives
of Saints of any religion or spiritual path.
Seekership has the following stages:
The first stage is intense curiosity about Spirituality. At this stage,
a person reads books on Spirituality, attends lectures on spiritual topics, etc.
A seeker at this stage does spiritual practice whenever time permits, in the
way he can and wants to. As he progresses, he realizes that Spirituality plays a very important
part in life, that only Spirituality can give the ultimate and permanent happiness
or Bliss. At this point, one progresses to the next level of seekership by developing
an intense desire for spiritual progress that will attain him the state of continuous
Bliss. The seeker now gives equal importance to worldly and spiritual life. As he progresses even further, he realizes that Spirituality is the only
truth of life and devotes most of his time for Spirituality.
It is clear from the above explanation that only those who undertake spiritual
practice on an appropriate path for a minimum of a few hours daily should consider
themselves as seekers. The best spiritual practice is the practice advised by
a spiritually evolved person (a Saint or Guru). The fastest way to achieve this
is to follow the Path of Guru’s Grace. On the Path of Guru’s Grace, spiritual practice entails chanting* The
Lord’s Name, attending spiritual meetings (Satsangs), service unto the
Absolute Truth (Satseva), sacrifice unto the Absolute Truth (Tyag), and unconditional
spiritual love for others (Priti). Refer to ‘Practical
Applications of the Principles of Spirituality’ section of this Issue for details about
practicing some of these steps of spiritual practice. |
