Take the Step of Honest and Sincere Effort
Once, when some disciples were sitting in the divine presence of Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, He asked “Tell me, have you heard this line? ‘If the mind has not turned into the land of spring then Autumn is bound to befall’ What does it mean?” No one was able to give the correct answer. Then Shri Maharaj Ji said, “If you cling to the past if you cling to the malice of your mind, then your mind will not experience the joy of spring, its bliss“.
One of the disciples asked, “Maharaj Ji, then how can the mind experience the spring of joy?” Shri Maharaj Ji responded in his divine radiance, “Spring lies in the revolution of the soul, in imbibing the ideals of the Guru”.
It is about eradicating our vices and our malice while living the principles exemplified by Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, who is the embodiment of true ideals. This is the kind of revolution that we need to exhibit. Verily, this is our spring. It is true that Gurudev does everything, but the effort to purify the mind must come from the disciple. In this respect, Gurudev says “You need to take only one step. I will take a hundred“. Yes, it is only one step that we need to take. But the irony is that it is this very step that the disciple is unable to take even after several cycles of rebirth. What is this one step?
It is the singular step of honest and sincere effort. It is true that only through the grace of the Guru that a disciple can be liberated from the vices and dwell in a state of eternal bliss and contentment. But the Guru yearns to see how sincere, how dedicated, and how devoted the effort of the disciple is. Once satisfied with the effort, the Guru instantly marches a hundred steps to embrace us and transforms our efforts into a concrete realization. So, the expectation of Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji is simply of one’s sincere effort.
Let us not delay this further. Many years have passed in the mediocre and transient effort. Till today, what have we been doing? On confronting the difficult times, we try to introspect and attempt to rectify our weaknesses. But, when that phase is over, we leave our efforts. We must not give up and abandon our effort. Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji wants to chisel us. This time is precious. If despite being in the refuge of such a generous Guru, we fail to work on ourselves in this unique period, then, we will be the tragic unfortunate lot. Thus, let us not just discuss the problem, but also the solution.
