Page 70 - Wisdom Unfurled

result of His own anubhava irrespective of what a Sankara or a Ramanuja might have said on the subject. Today every one is only after peace and it means therefore that realization is not the object. Realization brings peace in its wake. Not only we should be interested in knowing the nature of realization but also there should be a sincere and serious attempt at attaining it.
The greatest obstacle in the way is the belief that liberation is impossible in one life not to speak of realization, thanks to the misguided propaganda of the self-styled doctors of divinity. Another fallacy planted again in the minds of men by the mahatmas of the day is that God cannot be found while leading a family life and He is to be sought in the forest as if He is a forest dweller. Most of us are afraid of our own selves and are hopelessly under the spell of the senses. This is further reinforced by the erudite interpreters of the scriptures who describe samsaraas an ocean filled with sharks and alligators, these being the metaphors for wife and children; the senses are thieves who rob one of peace and their dominance can be ended only by means of ruthless control, denial of food for them literally and a life of severe austerity and penance.
The only alternative they counsel is running away from home, a physical renunciation termed vairagya used in the sense of enmity towards samsara (vaira, vairi-enemy) in utter disregard of one’s worldly duties for which there is least justification. We will find in the course of Master’s teachings that vairagya is to be taken in the sense of ‘vi-raga’, ‘vi’ the prefix in Sanskrit meaning ‘special’ or ‘enhancing’; thus interpreted, the term means enhanced special attachment towards God/Reality which automatically and effortlessly leads to detachment of the world. Further we adopt an attitude of trusteeship in discharging our various duties taking them as commands of the Master which ought to be fulfilled to perfection so that the Master may be pleased.
Under this system of training, the action of the senses get regulated in a natural way so as to bring them to their original state as they were when we assumed the human form for the first time. The lower vrittis (modifications of the mind stuff or chitta) which are working independently are subjected to the transmitted super-consciousness which helps in stopping their perverse action. The lower centres are brought under the control of the higher centres which in turn come under the control of the Divine centres leading to the gradual divinization of the system restoring poise and balanced character in it. The most important feature of this system is that it goes on in conjunction with the normal worldly living of common man, with due regards of his duties and responsibilities so that both aspects of his life, the worldly and spiritual, may develop equally bright. The Master is quite emphatic in stating that these are