Spiritual Development Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

0:01 A devotee by the name of Satyakama Jabala approached a respected guru in a story related in the Chandogya Upanishad. He asked for teachings so he could achieve realization on the spiritual path. The teacher asked him his name and family background, to which the young seeker replied that he did not know who his father was. The teacher was impressed with the truthfulness of the youth and gave him an opportunity. The story goes that the teacher entrusted some cattle to the boy and told him to take them to the forest and when the herd reached 1000 cattle he should return and would obtain the teachings. The story is variously told as being either 2 or 400 cattle that he started with.

0:53 Either way, the implication is similar, only that starting with two obviously entails more time and more risk. Let us assume, then, that the number was 400 for purposes of our review. This process involves years of effort. The young individual with no training or background had to learn how to care for, feed, tend and protect the cattle against hunger, disease, accident and predation by wild animals. He had to also live a life of solitude focused on achieving his task. The dedication, perseverance and determination he needed to achieve spiritual realization is obvious. He could not let moods, depression, loneliness, discouragement or fear cause him to give up. All of us are subject to changes of moods, circumstances, and our response to them based on the energy we express the play of the three gunas of nature and their ability to vary our response to circumstances and the circumstances themselves. If we let the three gunas rule us, at some point we will become angry, or we will give up out of frustration, or we will respond out of fear and the process gets

2:24 broken. If we add to this the incredible difficulty and complexity of attempting to address and change embedded habits and instincts built up throughout the development of animal life on the planet and into the conditioning that we undergo as human beings, we can begin to recognize the difficulty and the elusive nature of obtaining a permanent change in any aspect of our existence. Therefore, the seeker is best served by practising how to separate himself from the changes that take place in the external nature and simply observe from the standpoint of the witness consciousness. Srioro Bindo writes quote.

3:15 No Sadiq, even if he had the capacity of the ancient Rishis and Tapaswis, or the strength of a Vivekananda, can hope to keep during the early years of his Sadhna A continuous good condition or union with the Divine, or an unbroken call or height of aspiration. It takes a long time to spiritualize the whole nature, and until that is done, variations must come, a constant trust and patience must be cultivated, must be acquired, not the least when things go against, for when they are favorable, trust and patience are easy. The power needed in yoga is the power to go through effort, difficulty, or trouble without getting fatigued, depressed, discouraged, or impatient, and without breaking off the effort or giving up one's aim or resolution. End Quote Reference Shriya Robindo and the Mother Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pages 136 to 137.