Principles of Spirituality

Path Of Guru's Grace (Gurukrupayoga)

An average individual, a seeker and a Guru

Action (karma), Act (kriya) and the proportion of the two in an average individual, a seeker and a Guru:

An action implies an act performed along with a motive. For example, if one is walking down the stairs and purposefully pushes the person in front down, then it is an action.
An act is devoid of a motive. For example, if one accidentally pushes a person down the stairs, then it would be an act.

As one makes progress in one's spiritual practice, actions of the various bodies, such as the mental, causal (intellect), supracausal (ego), etc., excluding the physical body, go on reducing proportionately. As the actions of these various bodies decrease, use of the Universal Mind and Intellect increases proportionately. Both action and act are a function of the ego. Thus, as one spiritually progresses, the total action and act go on diminishing, and more of God's will comes into play.

Inclination to give guidance to accomplish some achievements, in both the materialistic as well as the spiritual realms:

Saints - Saints give some guidance to accomplish some achievements, in both the material as well as the spiritual realms.
Guru - When a saint accepts a seeker as a disciple, He becomes the latter's Guru. A Guru guides only regarding achieving the realm without materialistic expectation (God). Once a saint commences His mission as a Guru, His desire to help His devotees to overcome their worldly obstacles gradually decreases and finally ceases altogether.

The table below gives the desire for performing a particular action, the total action (karma) and the act (kriya) and the proportion of the two in an average individual, a seeker and a Guru.

	Desire to perform an action	Total of the action and the act %	Proportion of the action and the act
			Action %	Act %
1. An average individual	One's own wish (svwechcha )	100	90	10
2. A seeker 3. A Guru	Others' wish (parechcha ) God's wish (Ishwarechcha )	40 5	70 10	30 90

*If one is not currently doing any spiritual practice, or to complement one's current spiritual practice, one can begin with the simple, but powerful spiritual practice of chanting or constantly remembering God's Name according to one's religion. Chanting also acts as a useful complement to any spiritual path one may be already following. It is a practice recommended for the current times by Holy texts and Saints of all religions.

Seekers in the initial stages of spiritual practice (less than one year) can repeat The Name of the Lord as per their religion (refer to Issue 3 Clarification of Doubts section for details).
Seekers who have been doing regular spiritual practice for over a year or so can determine the appropriate chant for them from the experiment given in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section.