Carnal mind 1

God has provided alternatives to face the inclemency of weather. When there is snowfall all around, there is adequate warmth inside the caves. In Gomukh region there is a shrub which is combustible. Similarly there is particular vegetation which produces flickering light in the night. Dev-kand grown inside the earth in tapovan and Nandanvan is extremely sweet like sweet potatoes. Outwardly it has a stem like grass but if it is dug out it has a giant-sized root sufficient to nourish a person for a week. It can be taken either raw or after roasting on fire. The drink prepared by boiling the knots grown on the stem of birch tree is so warmth-giving that a man gets perspiration in bitter cold. It is a tasteful drink which can be taken with or without salt. The skin of birch tree can be used, like cloth, as bedding and covering.  God has thus made all arrangements to enable a person to face the fury of inclement weather. Man gets disturbed by infirmity of his own mind or by depending only on things to which he is habitually accustomed. If a man becomes self-reliant, three-fourths of his problems are solved and other alternatives can be found for the remaining one-fourth. He can thus adjust himself in all circumstances. He finds himself in difficulties only when he wants that all others should act according to his wishes and outer conditions should always be in his favor. If a person changes himself he can adapt himself to all circumstances and lead a happy and vibrant life.

I had heard and read all these things but I put them into practice only during this pilgrimage of the Himalayas. It was a good training, a kind of tapascarya, which gave me an opportunity to exercise control over my wayward mind. Now I do not have any difficulty in facing adverse circumstances. It hardly takes any time for me in converting unfavorable circumstances into favorable opportunities for soul-growth.

There was no scope in this solitude for passion, anger, and illusion. Fear and temptation, which appeared by way of tests, were dispelled smilingly without any difficulty. False sense of self-pride did not work here. I thought "I am a soul, I am light personified. I am all powerful. Fear and temptation cannot overpower and drag me down." Seeing my mind firm and determined all forces of evil conspiring to drag me down into the pit of self-ruination beat a hasty retreat, in disarray. It is not appropriate to describe all such events which tested the rocklike firmness of my fortitude and character, since I am still alive and it might be construed as self-praise. I have simply to say here that a pilgrim of spiritual path has to encounter the onslaughts of fear and temptation and has to grid up his loins to face the challenges. One who does not prepare himself to go through this baptism of fire has to repent like the ringmaster of a circus who breaks his limbs and endangers his life by performing his feats without necessary preparation, in a haphazard manner.

Amongst Upasana, Sadhana and Aradhana, Sadhana is the most important. The rituals of Upasana (worship) can be performed by anybody just as he does his other routine chores. Piety, benevolence, doing good to others, fall within the purview of Aradhana. Nothing more remains to be done if a person has reformed himself by Sadhana. An elevated soul works effortlessly and naturally for universal Good. It becomes his only preoccupation and he acquires mastery in it. I had to perform Sadhana of self-control and mental restraint during my first journey to the Himalayas. Whatever divine attributes I have been blessed with are the result of Sadhana. Upasana has become a mere pastime.