In the Garden of Spiritual Life - Swamy Shraddhananda

Travelers come to a crossroad on their journey. To one side of the road is a barren plot, full of weeds and thistles. Travelers look at that barren place and frown. But on the other side of the road is a beautiful garden — full of trees, shrubs, and fragrant flowers. In the spring, in the summer, even in the winter, varieties of flowers bloom there. Travelers look at the plot, so beautiful and fragrant, and praise the owner of that garden.

Our life can be compared to a piece of land. If we are careless, our life becomes just as that barren plot — full of thistles and unwelcome growth; a Godless life; a life in which there is no peace, no harmony; a life which has cultivated only material pleasures and harvested egotism, vanity, greed, and hate. But if we have dedicated our life to spiritual and moral values, it becomes like the fragrant flower garden – a life grounded in faith in God; a life in which the character has been freed from greed and unwelcome passions. A person of such character will be known by his behavior: He will have cultivated sweetness, compassion, kindness, understanding, and patience.

Spiritual life is indeed a flower garden. Sometimes we are afraid of living a spiritual life. We think that if we travel too far in this direction, we will be deprived of many things. There will not be any emotion, any love, any action. We will become like stone; our life will be like a desert. That is a wrong idea. On the contrary, if spiritual life is rightly understood and rightly lived, it becomes a wonderful flower garden. A flower garden is not simply dear to the person who works in that garden; it is dear and appealing to any onlooker. So too with a spiritual life; it is very dear and precious not only to the person who is living that life but also to all those who come in contact with it.

Spiritual Blossoming

Sri Ramakrishna said, "The greatest purpose of human life is to see God, to realize God." God has to be brought into every fiber of our being — in our body, in our senses, in our will, in our emotions, and in our knowledge. When this happens, our life becomes like a flower garden in full bloom. Such a flower garden cannot be kept concealed. People will stand by such a garden and enjoy it, even if they have not worked in it. Whoever comes into contact with a genuinely spiritual person imbibes the peace, the sweetness, the love, the compassion, and the faith emanating from that individual. It is in the gardens of full blossoming that we find the treasures to humanity. Jesus Christ died two thousand years ago, but is He gone? He is a living treasure to all humanity. So also are the Buddha and the great sages, saints, prophets, and incarnations of all religions.

But spiritual life requires care. A person cannot bring forth a vegetable or flower garden from the soil overnight. At first it seems baffling. You clean out the weeds one day and then, only three days later, the weeds come again. Gardening requires patience and hard work. You plant a seed, but it may take one or two years for that seed to grow into a shrub and become beautiful. So it is in our spiritual life with whatever we plant. We plant faith, we plant love, we plant detachment, we plant self-control, we plant knowledge. All of these seeds must be planted, and we must not be impatient. We must go on watering and feeding and weeding the soil until, slowly, the barren plot is transformed into a garden of beauty.

Spiritual interest comes to a man as a result of great, good karma. The Bhagavad Gita says, "Manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye"; "Among thousands and thousands of human beings, maybe one person becomes interested in the search for God." This person is not satisfied with his normal life of pursuing pleasures; intellectual achievement, honor, fame — none of these things satisfy him. His life may be fully successful from the worldly point of view, but he feels an emptiness, a vacuum. What is lacking is spiritual Truth. As we read in the Bible, "Man was created in the image of God." Or, as we read in the Taittiriya Upanishad, "The great Paramatman, infinite Spirit, who is ever-pure, eternal, immortal, who is of the nature of infinite Bliss; that immortal Spirit, after creating these jivas, entered into those individuals." In other words, the spirit of God, that infinite divine Being, resides in the heart of every man.

But in most men He is neglected. He is covered over with our distractions or what we call the worldly life, the ignorant life, the life in Maya. Among thousands of people, may be one becomes restless for God. Even then, the Bhagavad Gita says, "And among thousands of people who are struggling for that spiritual unfoldment, maybe one becomes really successful." If it is the highest fulfillment, one cannot have it too easily. One must carry on the search with patience, with perseverance, with faith, with courage. Only then does the garden slowly become living.

The important step then is the awakening of this spiritual interest. Let a spiritual seeker compare his life to a plot of land; let him resolve to make that land into a beautiful garden. It will be a garden of enjoyment, but not in the worldly sense. It is a refined enjoyment to feed the emotions and bring harmony to the mind and nerves.

Faith

A person who has resolved to create a garden of spiritual life should plan carefully what to grow. The first thing he should plant is an evergreen shrub — namely, faith. Some trees shed their leaves in the winter, but not so with the evergreen. In the winter, in the summer, in the scorching heat of the sun or the freezing cold, the evergreen is always green. Faith is like that—ever green. Love of God may fluctuate; one day you may feel great love for God; another day you find that your heart is barren, without love. There are many spiritual treasures, but faith, like the evergreen, should be the stable tree of our garden. It is faith that saves us from many situations, like doubts, confusions, and temptations.

Of course, when we first plant it, it may be so small that it fits into a one gallon nursery can. Let it be in that one gallon can. A tiny one will do; it does not matter. As we know, our faith in the beginning is not very strong and becomes easily shaken. It does not matter if we start with only a little faith. As Lord Jesus Christ said, "Even if you have faith like a grain of sand, it will grow; it will become a mountain one day." That is the nature of faith; you have to put faith into practice and then it grows and grows.

The starting point of faith is faith in myself. I must believe I am a spiritual seeker, that I am seeking something that will bring real peace, harmony, and strength in my life. When I have seen God, when I have genuine experience of my spiritual Self, then my faith will be like a mighty tree. But in the beginning, let the initial faith be in myself as a spiritual seeker. No one has compelled me to seek God; it is my own choice. Compulsion in religious life can break down at any moment. Forced religion does not go far. Even if by the instigation of friends you go to a religious service or holy place, you may not feel uplifted. The choice must be your own. Sometimes it comes as a result of a hard shock in life, maybe a bereavement, maybe a frustration. Sometimes it comes naturally. But if the choice has not come today, wait for tomorrow. Wait for the day after tomorrow. A proper situation will come and the choice will be your own, namely, the resolution that you must seek God, that you must find out what you really are, that you must seek a true meaning of life. This initial faith is faith in myself as a spiritual seeker.

The other part of faith may also be in the beginning very small — namely, faith in the spiritual Reality. This world as we see it, this material world of time, space, and natural laws, is not the ultimate. It is here and I am functioning in it, but at the back of this, there is a spiritual Reality. It is not changing all the time; it is eternal, it is infinite. It is Light, the Light of Consciousness, the Light of Love. In common language we call it God, and in Vedantic language we call it the true Self of man. Buddha called it Nirvana. It does not matter what name we give to that Reality. But there is a Reality; otherwise, life would have no meaning.

This second element of faith, namely, faith in that which I am seeking, may not be very clear at first. God may seem at this moment very remote or vague. My true Self I do not find. When I close my eyes all I find is my heartbeat, a simple pulse sensation. But here faith will work. If you don’t see it right at this moment, don’t allow doubts to come and confuse your mind. You must maintain your faith. There is a Truth and that Truth can be touched. If we study the lives of spiritual persons in all religions, we find that spiritual life can be really fruitful. Men and women of God, at all times and in all religions, have reached a fulfillment where they became peaceful. Their heart became free from all passions and distractions; for them God was not just an empty word. God was real, more real than the world in which they lived. When they were awake, they moved and worked with God. When they were asleep, their mind was in God. God became their constant companion. This truth is revealed by the study of their lives.

If we think in this way, the seed of faith grows. First grows faith in myself as a spiritual seeker. I decide to spend some time and energy for the development of my spiritual life. Then grows faith that the thing I am seeking is real. These two parts of faith compose the evergreen shrub which we have to plant in our garden of spiritual life. As that faith grows, it gives us more strength and maintains our interest. When we are afraid, when we are depressed, it is from that faith that courage comes, strength comes.

Prayer

What seed shall we plant next? Humble supplication to God — prayer. Spiritual achievement is not like passing an examination or anything we can do by ourselves. We need the help of God. With humility and with the heart of a child we must pray to God: "I have chosen this path. I want to make my life a spiritual garden. You know my heart — I desire to know You, to love You, to make You real in my life. But my vision is covered with the vines of ignorance and distraction. I need Your help. Reveal to me Your true nature; bestow on me Your grace." This is called prayer.

In our secular everyday life, we pray to God for money, fame, a job, for this or that. Or sometimes we pray when we feel helpless, when someone is gravely ill and the doctors cannot do anything. Sometimes God listens; sometimes not. If He listens, we say "O God, henceforth I am going to visit temples as often as I can." If He does not listen, we may say "Oh God, You did not listen to me, so I am not going to You anymore."

But spiritual prayers are different. When I am genuinely seeking God’s light, God’s peace, God listens to my prayer. God certainly helps me if I want spiritual treasures — the treasures of love, self-control, detachment. This kind of prayer is a very important and yet simple practice. Let us not be afraid. As the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad says: "That Divine in us, that infinite Spirit in us, is dearer than a son, dearer than a father, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything." That is God — our dearest father, or mother, or friend; our dearest relation.

Detachment

The next important seed to be planted is vairagya — detachment. Detachment is not something negative; it is a flowering shrub in our spiritual garden. Detachment means the development of a new attitude: "I have given myself to so many occupations, to so many attractions, and now I want to love God. I want to install him in the throne of my heart. I must tell, "Enough of that," to the things that have occupied my mind. It does not mean running away from anything. Whatever my duties and responsibilities are, I cannot run away from them. I may be a father; I may be a mother; I may be an employee somewhere. I have to attend to all of these duties, but with a new attitude. This attitude is called vairagya. Whatever you do, offer that action as worship to God. In other words, our duties and responsibilities can be a spiritual practice if we remember God in our actions.

When our day begins, we should take a moment to think, "My God, the whole day so many things will come that I will have to work out. But these, the whole universe, is Your show. The whole universe is running by Your will and Your power. So too, the little universe, the little world in which I am functioning; my home, my family, my office — this little world is also being run by You. I am just Your servant; I am working for You." This spiritual attitude is detachment; not running away from life but bringing God into the picture. Bringing God into my hand, my brain, my heart — knowing that I am filled with God. When this attitude comes, a man can be so active and yet, at the same time, so calm. He does everything without any expectation of reward. He is not depressed when failure comes. He is calm and unperturbed by whatever comes. This detachment, then, is very important in the garden of our spiritual life.

Contemplation

Our garden would not be complete without the sweet fragrance of the rose bush. Contemplation is the rose bush of our spiritual life. Our contemplation and meditation should be a regular practice. Our mind has to learn to go a little deeper. The practice of contemplation or meditation requires more effort than prayer. Prayer can be done even when we are lying down or walking, but contemplation or meditation needs a quietness of the body. You must sit at one place, either in a temple or shrine, or in a corner of your home. At that time, your thought should be: I and my God. This is the time for communion with the Beloved, with the Master, with that infinite immortal Being who is my God, who is in me, and who is really my true self. One has to sit daily, maybe fifteen minutes or half an hour. If interest comes, then automatically we find the time.

When interest in meditation grows, a person cannot miss his meditation. He finds his greatest joy and peace in that period of communion with God. The mind is always going outside, outside, outside. In contemplation, we withdraw the mind and direct it to the inner Being. Our experience of existence is flickering all the time. I am happy. I am sad. I am this or that. But my little existence is always grounded in that infinite Existence which is God. Even the fact that I am saying, "I am, I am" — this feeling, this experience, is coming from God. These things we can find for ourselves when we practice contemplation. All that I am desiring all the time in the world in a piecemeal way, in a broken way, can be extended to the Infinite, my God. He is infinite Existence, the Light of Love.

Some people find they need some kind of symbol or image to aid them in their meditation. These images are helpful because the mind wants to grab on to something; it cannot at once expand into the Infinite. Some minds naturally feel at ease meditating on God with the help of an image, or a picture, or a symbol like Om or a cross. Some minds are inclined to think of God as the impersonal Reality: Infinite Existence — Consciousness — Bliss. It depends upon the constitution of the mind. In this matter, if one can seek the guidance of a teacher, it is helpful.

Whatever our inclination, our contemplation need never be a practice of dryness. Just as there are many varieties of roses, each with its own beauty and fragrance, so too are the varieties of contemplation. As the love grows in the devotee’s heart, he wants to see his Beloved God in many ways. "Today, O God," says the devotee, "I will contemplate upon You as the infinite Light of consciousness. On another day I shall meditate upon You as the vast firmament with all the stars and moon. Again, I will meditate on You as Your vast cosmic body." We have that freedom because God is a kind, beloved God. You can take liberty with Him.

We should not be afraid of God, just as a little child is not afraid of its mother. Like that, with God we can take liberty. We can meditate on Him as the light of the sun, the light of the moon, as the fragrance and beauty of flowers, the flowing river, the vast ocean. In nature there are so many objects of wonder, of beauty. To a worshipper of God, each object may become an object of meditation. In this way, contemplation may be varied, but each contemplation is really directed to God, the Beloved.

Love

There are so many flowers and plants which we can slowly and gradually plant in this garden. Love is one. Bhakti, pure love, is a very delicate and wonderful plant. It should be nurtured with great care. In this way, these spiritual treasures, all these we have noted and more, make our garden of spiritual life enriched. Automatically, more and more, we know that this is the life for which we were born, that the true purpose of being born is to find God in our life.

In this way spiritual experience grows as a garden grows. One season we have certain plants; next season we replace some with different kinds of annuals. But the garden is all the time filled with shrubs and flowers. Our journey has come to an end. God is the totality of things; God is the totality of all experiences. What more do I want? There is nothing for which to ask. There is no more fear. Where shall I go? All these questions are relevant only in the life of ignorance. But when the Light of God has come, when that experience of God has come, these questions cease because we find our true Self, our eternal companion. We become eternally linked with that truth. This truth will not deprive us of our normal activities and ideas; it transforms them, giving them new color, new fragrance. Such is the glory of spiritual life. If we compare it to our known experiences, indeed, a spiritual life is like a beautiful garden, a source of joy and peace to us and to all those whose lives we touch.

© `The Choice Is Yours’ by Lilia Lender published (1987) by Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai Park Drive, Powai, Mumbai 400 072.

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