By
Swami Kriyananda
From Awaken
to Superconsciousness
Spiritual progress
should be natural, not forced—like a growing tree…
An important rule in life is: Don't be impatient. This rule is doubly
important for meditation, for whereas the general stricture against
impatience gives hope of finding inner peace in meditation, that
hope is demolished if one applies to meditation itself attitudes
that we've developed in the "rat race." To find God, it
is better to be a long-distance runner than a sprinter. Today's
meditative efforts will have to be renewed tomorrow, and again the
day after tomorrow, and the day after that, and so on for as long
as it takes to achieve the consciousness of the Eternal Now.
Don't let your approach to meditation be so achievement-oriented
that you end up mentally tense. Yogananda, noting my own tendency
toward impatience, once said to me, "The principle of karma
yoga applies to meditative action also. Meditate to please God.
Don't meditate with desire for the fruits of your meditations. It
is best, in the beginning, to emphasize relaxation."
Of course what he meant was, Don't desire fruits that accrue to
your ego. For it is the ego, not the soul, that experiences impatience.
Patience is the fastest path to God, because it develops soul-consciousness.
The more you seek rest as the consequence of doing, rather than
in the process of doing, the more restless you will become. Peace
isn't waiting for you over the next hill. Nor is it something you
construct, like a building. It must be a part of the creative process
itself.
Learn to be restful, even in the midst of activity, and you will
be able to relax better when you sit to meditate. As Paramhansa
Yogananda put it, "Be calmly active, and actively calm."
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