ADVICE ON SADHANA

The necessity of serious sadhana

1. In order that your mind should become firm, observe with full attention your duty, which is the practice of sadhana.

2. Instead of practicing sadhana superficially, follow it intensively in such a way that your mind is totally immersed in it.

3. Only the aspiration towards the fair firmament of supreme consciousness, which has no final goal other than mauna, is most worthy endeavor.

4. Grace will not combine with a bat-like mentality. Stick with intensity to one [path].

Bats nibble at one fruit and fly away, looking for another fruit to nibble at. They never stay long enough in one place to finish a single fruit.

5. All meditation practices are the means that enable the attainment of the strength of mind that is necessary for Atmanishta.

Question: How is the mind to be eliminated or relative consciousness transcended?
Bhagavan: The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating
it from its restlessness; give it peace; make it free from
distractions; train it to look inward; make this a habit.
This is done by ignoring the external world and removing
the obstacles to peace of mind.

Question: How is restlessness removed from the mind?
Bhagavan: External contacts - contacts with objects other than itself - make the mind restless. Loss of interest in non-Self [vairagya] is the first step. Then the habits of introspection and
introspection and concentration follow. They are characterized by control of external senses, internal
faculties, [sama, dama, etc.] ending in samadhi
[undistracted mind].

Padamalai, edited by David Godman