Page 151 - Wisdom Unfurled

discerning seeker and the only way open to him for extricating himself from the morass he is in, namely that of surrendering to the Supreme Master who is the only power and God capable of saving him. Though it is easily stated thus the problems facing the abhyasi are twofold, firstly, is he prepared to accept that he is weak, hopelessly bad, badly in need of help and secondly, to depend on another personality for delivering him out of the enslavement. In today’s refrain of self- assertion and independence talking of surrendering the ego to a Master or God would seem out of tune. It is difficult to have faith in God who is essentially unknowable in the beginning at least. We need to go by the faith we have in our elders or intimate friends and accept their advice in this regard. Our Master is the only one in all spiritual history who said that He would make Masters and this statement alone will enable any reasonable person to repose at least trust in His method and start following Him. The positive experiences on the Natural Path would create and deepen the faith in the Master so that it becomes unshakeable withstanding all the vicissitudes of life. The other important component in prayer is the feeling of our own utter incapacity, incompetence to measure up to the expectations of the Master or Divine, namely to be one with Nature. When we meditate on the meaning of the prayer we begin to realize our lowliness before Master, our unworthiness as His disciples and feel miserable pondering our abject state despite all the help given by the Master who has been so generous and kind in accepting us unmindful of all our faults. When such a state sinks into the heart the descent of the Divine starts. We need to empty ourselves from our hearts so that God may enter it.
The Master has referred to the prayer in the context of the 10th Commandment in the text under discussion. The prayer is recommended at bed time because one is then free from all engagements at that time and the only thing in one’s view is rest and repose. The Master compares the freedom one has at bed time to the state of contentment of Nature and the time takes advantage of the natural condition. There are many difficulties felt by many aspirants though in measuring up to the requirements of the Commandment as reflected in the preoccupation in their minds with the problems of the day and the consequent planning for the morrow and the strong pull from the physical and vital planes which reduce the prayer to a mere ritual. Theabhyasi is to feel the presence of God and offer the prayer. He has to feel in the depths of his heart his utter helplessness to overcome his shortcomings and further that God alone is the only power that can help him in the process.
People entertain all kinds of notions regarding God and what it would mean to be in His presence. We have to go by the indication given by the Master for judging whether a person is spiritually advanced and thereby will be in a position to help us in the path by the index of our feeling a certain amount of