Sri Annamalai Swami
I have jsut remembered another verse from the Siddhas:
'Many people have struggled years together to realize the Self. Millions and millions of people have struggled, looking for the light outside themselves. If these millions and millions of people have died without understanding the Self that is within them, it is because they didn't understand the real path.'
You must find someone who has followed the right path, someone who has discovered this inner truth for himself, and who stabilized himself there. Such a one will give you good advice. He will not send you out on unproductive adventures in the outside world. Following the advice of someone who has not reached this state is simply a case of the blind leading the blind. Neither knows the right path and both will eventually fall into a big hole.
You may find a fruit that is very bitter and decide to improve its flavor. You could take it to all the holy rivers in the country and wash it in each one, but when you come home, the fruit will not be any less bitter than the day you started. You can carry your mind to every corner of the country, visiting all the famous pilgrimage places on the way. bathing in all the holy rivers, doing pujas at all the sacred shrines, but when you return your mind will be in the same state as the day you started. Mind is not improved by long journeys to far-flung places. Instead, make an internal pilgrimage. Take the mind back to its source and plunge it into the peace-giving waters of the Self. If you once make this pilgrimage, you will never need to go looking for happiness or peace in any other place.
'Many people have struggled years together to realize the Self. Millions and millions of people have struggled, looking for the light outside themselves. If these millions and millions of people have died without understanding the Self that is within them, it is because they didn't understand the real path.'
You must find someone who has followed the right path, someone who has discovered this inner truth for himself, and who stabilized himself there. Such a one will give you good advice. He will not send you out on unproductive adventures in the outside world. Following the advice of someone who has not reached this state is simply a case of the blind leading the blind. Neither knows the right path and both will eventually fall into a big hole.
You may find a fruit that is very bitter and decide to improve its flavor. You could take it to all the holy rivers in the country and wash it in each one, but when you come home, the fruit will not be any less bitter than the day you started. You can carry your mind to every corner of the country, visiting all the famous pilgrimage places on the way. bathing in all the holy rivers, doing pujas at all the sacred shrines, but when you return your mind will be in the same state as the day you started. Mind is not improved by long journeys to far-flung places. Instead, make an internal pilgrimage. Take the mind back to its source and plunge it into the peace-giving waters of the Self. If you once make this pilgrimage, you will never need to go looking for happiness or peace in any other place.
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