Wholehearted execution of the prescribed disciplines 3

Jap (repeating the mantra quietly by way of adoration) of sixty-six malas (rosary), symbolic worship of th picture of Gayatri Mata by water, flowers, rice, incense, lighted lamp and naivedya (offering of sweets), meditation of rising Sun (Savita) at the time of jap and offering of libation to the Sun (Suryarghya-dan) at the end, this was sthe daily routine which was adopted by me. No bij-mantra or samput etc.. of tantrik system was added. With the picture of Gayatri Mata installed before me, my heart used to get flooded with intense faith and devotion and it appeared as if the Mother was sitting before me in person .Sometimes I felt inclined to shed tears ofintense love and joy by hiding my face in Mother ancal. During this period of daily worship and medication, there was never an occasion when my mind did not get instantly absorbed in inner concentration and identification with the Deity of my devotion. Had it not been for the ring of the alarm watch, I could not have felt inclined to come out of that state of trance. Never was there any interruption in this routine of sadhana.

This also applied to study for which no separate time was set apart. Often, I was required to walk and cover long distances in connection with the work of the Indian National Congress. I used to stop reading only when there was any meeting or program. I used to read while walking. My speed of reading books had been forty printed pages per hour. I used to get at least two hours daily for reading. Thus at the rate of 80 pages a day, I could read about 2400 pages in a month, 28800 pates in a year and seventeen and a half lakh pages over the past sixty years. Besides, reading has been as easy for me as taking food or bath and I could cursorily skip through about three thousand pages daily. This routine has been going on for the last sixty years during which innumerable pages of books, on subjects of my interest, have been read. After the completion of Mahapurascaranas I found more time which I devoted to studying several books and manuscripts in different libraries. These become an invaluable treasure for me.

I did not read a single page for recreation. All that I read was mastered with a view to acquiring proficiency in the particular subject. While writing any article or discussing any matter I could at once recall subjects which I had already read. In my absence, people used to say that I was a mobile Encyclopedia. Readers of Akhand Jyoti are amazed when they find references to so many books, journals and magazines. The same thing applies to Yug Nirman, Yojna and Yug Sakti Patrika. The secret is that I have read with utmost concentration whatever has been useful for me to gain mastery of the subjects of my interest. So all relevant references suddenly appear in my mind at the appropriate time. This, in fact, is th miracle of concentrated Sadhana.