Before You Move Forward

Divine Life Society Publication: Consciousness Alone Is – A Text Book of Yoga by Sri Swami Krishnananda

Before you move forward, it is necessary for you to see that your feet have been planted firmly on the ground and all things are clear to you. The advance along the line of yoga is something like a military operation. You are conscious that there is an encounter. This is the first step. As is the case with the awareness of an army general, so is the case with the yoga student. The yoga student is aware that there is going to be an encounter. What kind of encounter? Whom are you going to encounter?

From the military point of view, it is an encounter with a neighbouring country or some other country. In the case of a yoga student, it is an encounter with people outside and the world in front of you, because they have been always too much for you. You suspect the world, and suspect everybody in the world, as every country suspects every other country, basically—though the suspicion will not be manifest openly in behaviour. You do not go on declaring that you suspect everybody, but you do suspect. You are always cautious even about nature itself.

After this awareness of there being something to be faced, an assessment of the situation takes place. What kind of strength does the other party have? It takes a lot of time to understand this. Who is it that is facing you? After a lot of investigation with the application of varieties of methods, you come to a conclusion about the strength of the other party. Then comes an assessment of your own self. What is your strength? To what extent are you in a position to face this encounter? If your strength is not equal to the strength of the other side, you will not suddenly go for an onslaught. There will be peace negotiations, give-and-take policies, and for some reason or the other, the question will be dragged on for an adequate length of time.

This also happens to the yoga student. You have some idea of the world, and of people around, and about your own self; but it is not a complete knowledge. There is a fear, together with a longing. There is a longing to face the encounter, but a fear that it should not be done hastily. The world is so large and people are so many that you have to take all these factors into consideration before you take any step.

Well, you know to some extent what is the strength of the world and what is the strength of people. But you may not be fully aware of your strength because mostly you look like a fraction of this vast sea of power that is around you, and you may not be prepared to risk your life and your career in facing this world which is so large, and people who are so many. But sometimes you will gird up your loins and put on courage, saying, "I have a strength within myself which may not be the physical strength of an elephant, but it is a strength born of my thought and feeling." Atma-shakti is the power of soul. "God will bless me." This is what the seeker thinks, even in the beginning itself. "God will bless me" is a way of thinking that one's own effort and energy may not be sufficient, and that some other support is necessary.

Even the powerful Pandava forces were not confident of winning victory. They had the assistance of the gods in heaven, but even then they required some collaboration from a friend and well-wisher, who was Bhagavan Sri Krishna. That is why we go on saying, "God bless! God's grace of course is there. God will not let me down." The Pandavas knew that Sri Krishna would not let them down. "In the hour of difficulty, He is always there to lend us succour."

So the seeker feels, "After all, even if my efforts may not be sufficient and adequate, God is there to see that I am honest in my aspirations, and He will bless me, certainly." You have a hope that He will bless. Afterwards, the war encounter actually begins. But what do you do? Do you know what a war means? It is not a foolhardy jumping on something. It is a tremendous arrangement of factors which moves forward, backwards, sidewards, and so on—sometimes visible, sometimes not visible. Sometimes the manoeuvres are clear, even to the other side. Sometimes it looks like you are doing nothing, you are only keeping quiet; but actually you are not keeping quiet. The Pandavas kept quiet for a very long time, but that was not actually a keeping quiet; it was a preparation for an onslaught. So even if the force of a military strength appears to be keeping quiet, it is always on guard and is ready to take the necessary step.

Likewise, as with many other similarities of this kind, there is a yoga type of military operation before the whole world that is in front you. It is very important to realise in the beginning itself that you have the required facilities, appurtenances, equipments, to face the difficulties in yoga. The equipments are your inner strength of conviction first of all, and a feeling that inasmuch as you are on the right path, success is bound to come. Many a time success does not follow, even after years of effort. But the Bhagavadgita is behind you as your philosopher and guide, and it tells you that you should never look to the end result of your effort even if it be in the form of an expectation of success, because when you have done your duty, the consequences will automatically follow. You need not have to bother about whether they will come today or tomorrow. Many are the circumstances which go to contribute to the appearance of what is called victory or success. (To be continued – The Factors That Cause the Effect)

Excerpts from

Before You Move Forward - Consciousness Alone Is – A Text Book of Yoga by Sri Swami Krishnananda