The Journey Within

by Sri P.C. Lahiri

As young students, most of us had been advised to delve deep into a subject, learn it well, and perform admirably in examinations. The easy way out in most cases is to cram it up given how few perceive school education as an enjoyable activity by many!  This approach is fraught with the danger of failing should the questions be tweaked a little and/or if some variations were to be cleverly introduced by the examining authority – something that often ends up happening.  To have safe passage and peace in life, it is always better to learn a topic/subject by understanding it rightly.  To understand correctly, one has to read between the lines and be comfortable ‘outwardly and inwardly’.  The phrase ‘outwardly and inwardly’ is a coinage that we have come across in the discourses and books of Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur (the Master).  I firmly believe that if we are able to understand and appreciate the true meaning of this phrase and apply it consciously in life, peace and bliss shall not be a distant dream but rather a stark reality in this life itself.  We shall dwell on this notion further as we move on through the remainder of the article.  

The habit of going deep into a topic/subject to understand it properly from school days pays rich dividends throughout one’s life journey.  To start with, as a student, one enjoys his/her studies if this habit is imbibed.  Education does not remain a burden or a forced activity.  Once this habit develops in the name of education, it gradually gets imbibed in one’s innate nature (swabhava) and carries forward to other activities like sports, hobbies, debates, plays etc.  Such a young one, without any extra effort, will automatically get projected in the eyes of others as a happy and pleasant person to work and deal with.  If one is indeed able to create such an impression of himself/herself within others, it is a boon, life becomes easier - with all-round support from mother-nature and others becoming readily available.  Difficult tasks get done easily and on time.  In fact, time -  that most precious of commodities - becomes one’s friend.  Knowingly or unknowingly, that young man has taken a significant step towards being comfortable both ‘outwardly and inwardly’.  In other words, he is easily able to link with activities in the outer nature and also be able to enjoy the experience of such interactions, inwardly.  There is no apparent outward-inward disconnect.  Although he may be unaware, his journey within has begun.  If this practice is continued, then a time will come when mother-nature will provide him with the opportunity to come in contact with either a Guru of the third stage (Paraparamguru), i.e. one who will reveal to him the inner spiritual world, or else at least provide him with a platform where this knowledge is cultured.

A brief mention of the Master’s ‘four-in-one and one-in-four’ Guru-formula is worth making to better understand the significance of a Guru of the third stage.  First Guru (Mahaguru) are one’s parents who provide the essential support for the sustenance of a new-born and the knowledge of the basics of proper living in the world.  Second Guru (Paramguru) is a teacher/professor who provides the material knowledge to understand the outer world, deal with it, and be successful at living within it.  Third Guru (Paraparamguru) is a God-realized Soul who introduces the inner and central spiritual world of God to the aspirant seeker.  The real journey within to realize God/Self starts under the directions of such a Guru.  Paraparamguru imparts the Right Knowledge only to the qualified seeker who is truly and sincerely ready to receive Supreme Knowledge.  Guru of the fourth stage is Parameshtiguru who is Absolute personified, the Supreme Self I-Reality Himself.  The advent of such a Soul is very rare.  The Absolute Truth reveals of Its own accord within Him without any distinction whatsoever, and He remains forever the perfect Witness of such a revelation.

When the journey within begins, one starts noticing the impact of the volatility of outer nature on the inner nature. Nice cool weather strengthens the vitals (pranshakti), and we feel energetic. It is however only a feeling, simply because of our strong connection with the outer world and its incessant movements.  As soon as the weather changes to murky and cloudy, its stillness steals away our vitality and we start feeling down and morose.  Similarly a hot sweaty day eats into our vitality.  These features become the talk of the town.  As soon as you meet a friend, the first thing mentioned is the bad weather and its repercussions on mood and activity. An individual’s pranshakti is actually not controlled by outer nature; it is instead the other way round. How do we get to know this?  When we observe the behavior of a strongly energetic person under adverse outer-nature conditions, we find that their impact on him is negligible.  However upon traveling further within, we find that even a strongly energetic person is prone to dejection and unlikely to attend to tasks with his usual high levels of vigor and vitality when confronted with mentally challenging circumstances related to outer activities such as work, health and family.   In fact, the one who triumphs over such circumstances is a person who is mentally strong.  Mental strength is able to overcome the perceived negatives of outer nature and vitals.  Real life examples are offered by people seen to be recovering quickly from adverse health issues, relentlessly fighting adverse life conditions without losing hope and self-belief, bouncing back from down and out situations, inspiring a group in a losing scenario by hands-on action etc.  

Going further deeper, we find that even a mentally strong person may fail in a situation where intellect is needed to determine the course of action in a crisis.  The ability to ascertain options, analyze circumstances and decide upon the right approach in crunch situations requires one to possess more than a mentally strong mind.   A strong mind is able to overcome the negatives of outer nature, inner vitals and mind.  However, the mere resolution of a strong mind to overcome a crisis is no guarantee of the right call being made or of ultimate success in solving the problem at hand.  Often, unwavering adherence to a specific course of action may prevent one from exploring options that are more effective.  Baudhishakti (i.e. intellect) is needed to conduct crucial analysis of facts and situations and select the optimal alternative to move forward.  We therefore see that for a common man, a strong intellect is most helpful in drive towards material prosperity, name and fame in the society. This holds true for a sincere aspirant who receives guidance from a proper Paramguru and has had good support from a Mahaguru in the earlier part of life.

Under the guidance of Paraparamguru, the development of the above mentioned faculties is balanced by being predominantly sattvic rather rajasic (as was the case under earlier gurus).  Dynamic, assertive and creative rajasic characteristics make the ego and mind strong and powerful, which in turn is helpful in achieving worldly prosperity.  However when sattvic qualities start manifesting themselves in the association of Paraparamguru, the follower develops balance, strength of character, spiritual discipline, self-control, right judgment, cheerfulness etc. which help in achieving the same results even better - because such results have been attained in an environment of ‘inclusivity’, as opposed to the earlier aggressive approaches that emphasized ‘exclusivity’.  The results are long standing, which command genuine respect and admiration for the humble and calm high-achiever.  Gradually such a follower becomes a true seeker of self-purification and resultant God-realization.  Worldly glory ceases to hold the interest of such an individual.  He becomes highly internalized, seeking the immortality and ultimate beatitude within.  This realization dawns when the aspirant seeker finds his objective, inwardly and outwardly.  Within and without, he is able find his Guru/Ishta/Ishwara alone.  The Guru then takes him to the perfect state of non-duality, wherein the seeker and the sought are but One.  The journey started in the school days of delving deep into the subjects of syllabus, moved on from the outer to the inner, to the central and finally to the Transcendental.  Such a realization is possible for any sincere, devoted and dedicated seeker in the present times as well - whatever may be the opinions propagated by conventional religion.  This has been asserted by the Master time and again.  Let us move on with utmost faith and belief in Him and His teachings.