Page 40 - Wisdom Unfurled

Reality helps him a good deal in his primary initiation.
The upright position of the backbone, neck and head in an erect straight line during meditation has been thought to be most advantageous from very ancient times, because the flow of Divine grace is believed to descend straight upon the abhyasi in that posture. In our way of practice, however, this is not insisted upon. I advise the abhyasis generally to sit in a natural easy posture. Moreover, even those who assume a tight straight pose, are found to give way automatically to a suppliant, slightly forward drooping posture, as the state of blissful absorbency sets in. As such, it may be considered to be more natural even for the purpose of an ascent into higher states of consciousness. In fact a controversy over a point of comparatively lesser significance seems irrelevant.
It is better to sit in the grey of the morning for meditation, or when that is not possible, at any fixed hour convenient to the abhyasi. Do not feel disturbed with the outer things but remain engaged with your own work thinking that they are in a way helping you to feel the necessity for greater absorption in your practice.
Prayer
One thing more by way of practice is to offer daily the brief prayer O, Master,
Thou art the real goal of human life.
We are yet but slaves of our wishes,
Putting a bar to our advancement. Thou art the only God and power To bring us up to that stage.
At bedtime in the most suppliant mood with a heart overflowing with divine love. Repeat the prayer in your mind once or twice and begin to meditate over it for a few moments. The prayer must be offered in a way as if some most miserable man is laying down his miseries with a deeply afflicted heart before the Supreme Master imploring for his mercy and grace, with tearful eyes. Then alone can he become a deserving aspirant. There are many methods of loving God and many ‘bhavas’ are resorted to, e.g., paternal sentiment (pitr bhava), friendly sentiment (sakhya bhava), etc. In my opinion there can be no relation better than that of the lover and the beloved. If an abhyasi thinks himself to be lover and takes God to be beloved and proceeds with the same sentiment the result will be that God himself will become the lover and the abhyasi the beloved in the long run. But if one thinks that one has realised the