Patience, Perseverance and Firm Faith Are Needed Qualities on the Long Road of Yoga

1
00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:05,040
The seeker gets glimpses of
spiritual opening, experiences

2
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,680
of a vastness and a deep
silence.

3
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:12,440
When the mind falls utterly
still, he may get a vision of

4
00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,280
forces and powers that act in
the world and in himself.

5
00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,480
He may get the sense that he is
crossing a threshold into a

6
00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:26,440
space where he no longer exists
as a distinct individual, but as

7
00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,960
a part of something infinitely
larger and more complex than his

8
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:36,320
own individuality can encompass.
He may experience a power that

9
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,160
is entering his being, and he
may feel the electricity of that

10
00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,840
force coursing through his
entire being.

11
00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,360
He may have the experience of
entering other worlds or planes

12
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,840
of existence, meet beings, and
experience powers that operate

13
00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,280
outside the limitations of the
external reality to which he is

14
00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,680
accustomed.
He may get a sudden sense of

15
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,920
devotion or consecration or feel
a deep aspiration.

16
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,760
All of these experiences and
many others help the seeker to

17
00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,280
define his spiritual quest and
firm up his faith in the path

18
00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:20,240
and his destiny.
Whatever experiences the seeker

19
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,840
may have along the way,
eventually he may come to the

20
00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,640
realization that chasing after
experiences is not the

21
00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:33,280
objective, and that in many
cases the desire for such

22
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:38,560
experiences is actually contrary
to the larger purpose, as that

23
00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,920
desire actually may tend to
reinforce the ego rather than

24
00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,240
loosen its hold.
Eventually the initial

25
00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,960
experiences and the excitement
that comes with them recede and

26
00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,760
the seeker is left with the real
work to be done.

27
00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,560
Inspiration and vision need to
be converted into the work of

28
00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,880
inner exploration and the
rewiring of the being in all its

29
00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:10,759
ways of thinking, feeling and
responding to circumstances in

30
00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:15,760
the mind, in the heart, in the
vital being, and in the physical

31
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,440
body.
The seeker runs into all of the

32
00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,360
limitations within his being,
indeed within human and animal

33
00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,760
nature as developed thus far in
the evolutionary cycle.

34
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,400
He also meets with embedded
drives and responses as well as

35
00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:37,160
cultivated ambitions, desires
and needs.

36
00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,840
When the experiences withdraw,
the seeker frequently bemoans

37
00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:46,400
the dark night of the soul.
This is, however, something of a

38
00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,040
misnomer.
It is the dark night of the ego

39
00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,560
ambition that has been
frustrated by the withdrawal of

40
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,760
the vitally attractive visions
and experiences, including the

41
00:02:57,760 --> 00:02:59,840
sense of closeness to the
divine.

42
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,000
But it is not a reflection on
the soul.

43
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,600
If the soul is true, it remains
focused on its aspiration,

44
00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,680
retains its consecration, and
works through the temasek

45
00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,880
rebound that occurs with the
frustration of the rajasic

46
00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:21,640
desire.
The soul understands intuitively

47
00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,920
and directly that the work goes
on and that it will take time.

48
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,560
Srioro Bindo encapsulates this
sense when he writes in Savitri

49
00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:39,240
a legend and a symbol quote.
A moment sees the ages toil to

50
00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,520
express.
End Quote.

51
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,080
Sri Robindo observes quote.
There are always difficulties

52
00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,280
and a Hanford progress in the
early stages and a delay in the

53
00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,280
opening of the inner doors until
the being is ready.

54
00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,400
If you feel whenever you
meditate, the quiescence and the

55
00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,760
flashes of the inner light, and
if the inward urge is growing so

56
00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,720
strong that the external hold is
decreasing and the vital

57
00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,360
disturbances are losing their
force, that is already a great

58
00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:18,200
progress.
The road of yoga is long, every

59
00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:23,160
inch of ground has to be won
against much resistance and no

60
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:28,160
quality is more needed by the
Sadak than patience and single

61
00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:33,440
minded perseverance with a faith
that remains firm through all

62
00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,440
difficulties, delays and
apparent failures.

63
00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:44,240
End Quote reference Shriya
Robindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter

64
00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:48,080
3 in difficulty, page 39.