The main things to be considered are not at what expense one has prayed to the Lord, nor the number of years one has been engaged in it, nor the rules and regulations one has followed, nor even the number of times one has prayed over.
The main considerations are: with what mind one has prayed, with what degree of patience one has been awaiting the result, and with what single-mindedness one has craved for Godly bliss, regardless of worldly happiness and delay, with no lassitude and with constant attention to oneself, one’s meditation, and one’s task.
If one examines deeply the success in getting rid of all idea of self, one can oneself gauge the progress made. Instead, if one is engaged in counting the rules and adding up the time spent and the expense incurred, such meditation can belong only to the objective world; it can never come into the subjective and spiritual fields.
Repetition of God’s name and meditation should never be judged on mere external standards; they are to be judged by their inner effects. Their essence is their relationship to the Atma. The immortal Atmic experience should never be mixed up with low activities of the temporal world. Such activities deserve to be avoided. If room is given for them, and if one sways between impatience and sloth, and if one always worries oneself, feeling, “Why has it not come yet? Why is it still far away?” then it all becomes simply repeating the name and meditation done with intent to gain, with an eye on the fruit thereof.
The single fruit of repetition of divine names and meditation is this: the conversion of the out-faced into the in-faced; the turning inward of one’s eye, the inward eye seeing the reality of Atmic bliss. For this transformation, one has to be always active and hopeful, regardless of the time taken and the difficulties encountered. One should not count the cost, the time, or the trouble. One should await the descent of the Lord’s grace. This patient waiting is itself part of the austerity of meditation. Sticking unfalteringly to the vow is the austerity.
Swami Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Verily God instructs me to be humble and lowly and not proud;
and that no one should oppress another.
Prophet Muhammad
