Swamiji, what is the best way to practise spirituality?
Swamiji: Again you are talking about practice! You are just saying so with your mouth but you don’t practise. You simply come and meet me and ask me the same questions. You are all good people. You have faith and devotion but no practice. You all ask me how to practise. When you go to the office do you ask the manager how to work? When you go to the office it is your duty to work, so you find out and then you just do it, whether you like it or not. Everyone knows how to practise spirituality but you all want a shortcut. You want me to tell you an easy way. You keep on asking how to sing bhajans, how to do rituals, how to have satsang discussions, how to… how to… I will tell you frankly – there is just one straight way and that is meditation. The highest subject in spirituality is meditation. Abhishekams, satsang, service and other spiritual activities are supports to go to a higher level. Then you must meditate.
Swamiji, what do you mean by satsang?
Swamiji: Satsangmeans that some people, a group of people, get together and discuss spiritual subjects. If I am your spiritual master, you can take one of my talks or a part of it and discuss that. Share your ideas, feelings and experiences. All should take part willingly and happily. You will learn a lot. You can write down your ideas and then share them later with others. During the next week or until you meet again, make that satsang a real part of your life and practise. Then when you meet up again you can share your real life experience of putting the master’s teaching into practice. Nice, no? Never think that you know everything and that you are mature. You must always say, “I want to develop.” If you think you are already developed then, in fact, you are just being lazy because you don’t want to try. You are kidding yourself. Maybe you want others to respect you and think you are mature. That is rubbish. Only really materially minded people expect respect. It doesn’t matter whether others respect you or not. That is just the thoughts of others. Who cares? I mean, you give respect to your boss because it is expected but love and respect should really come from the heart, naturally. Faith, trust and honesty must come from the heart, arising spontaneously, otherwise there will be problems and falseness.
