The journey begins Part 1 - first recollections.

As a new student of Sri Chinmoy I was now consciously trying to transcend my 'old unfulfilled self' by growing into the wisdom, inspiration and compassion of his teachings.  

Before I was introduced to meditation I had led a very full life. I had travelled extensively both within Australia and overseas, managed hotels, lived on a horse/cattle stud, was a potter, had a variety of office jobs, I was married and have two great sons and was an avid landscape photographer.I had met a lot of wonderful people in various situations and had spent extended periods in the wilderness, but despite all of these incredible experiences I was not really fulfilled. Ultimately all of these experiences were only superficially satisfying – there had to be something more  and I was being driven to find just what it was!

I never understood why I felt like this, I simply had an inner cry for something  beyond my immediate understandings/surroundings. That’s why I sought so many different experiences, I thought that each would finally be the one that offered true satisfaction. While all of these experiences were expressions of an outer world, none of them gave me the opportunity to consciously access, experience or nurture the deeper part of my spiritual self, or satisfy my inner hunger.

In conversation how often have we heard the expression welcome to the 'real world', but what is real? Is it a world increasingly filled with unhappiness, violence and greed, or our own happiness terminated by loneliness, disappointment, frustration, jealousy, ego or insecurity? If you find yourself confronted by these realities then where do you turn to find  sanctuary that offers Truth, harmony, sincerity and sustained happiness?  Remembering the tranquillity of those Buddhist monks, then perhaps within the ancient  practices of thousand of years of Eastern culture and spiritual devotion lies the 'real' answer! 

There is an ancient Indian saying – ”when the student is ready the Master shall appear.”  Looking back at my life which was packed with so much, but empty of clear purpose, I felt that  I was certainly ready for the wisdom and depth of age-old teachings and what they quietly offered. So enthusiastically emboding all of my  experiences it was time for me to take the first step and start my pilgrimage with my teacher along the well-trodden spiritual path leading to contentment and fulfilment through 'self-discovery'.

When a genuine teacher accepts you as their student instantly they know where to offer their wisdom in bringing you ever-increasing contentment. Here the loving and caring relationship between the teacher and the student slowly begins to develop. As each student comes to the teacher carrying their own awareness and personality traits, then the teacher guides each student according to their inner and outer needs to guide them in their spiritual growth.

I have been known through my ego and other issues,  to  resist  some long-overdue changes. After all I had carried a fixed perception of myself for 40 years, and we all know where that got me! But Sri Chinmoy has so compassionately and patiently shown me what I need to discard, nuture or develop.

When you follow a genuine spiritual path you will be constantly guided by your teacher, invariably that will take you away from some of your conditioned comfort zones. Challenging it may be at first, but after you look back and realise how fulfilled you were because of a particular experience you develop a most important quality – faith. And when you have faith there is no stopping you, because you know that each experience is the one that you need for your own progress. Then your acceptance of each new situation is based on your faith developed through previous experiences given by  your teacher, which now leads you to ever higher and more fulfilling experiences bringing you increasing wisdom, contentment and happiness.

The real test can often be how sincerely you choose to follow the guidance being offered. Developing  the determination and humility to continually 'check' yourself in recognising where you need to apply the teachings being offered. The teacher will create the opportunities for the change, are you sincere enough to put the teachings into practice? As I have experienced those individual traits that prevent us fully experiencing the highest levels of our own self are tightly bound in our expectations, ego, doubt, insecurities, impurity, selfishness and more.

We have to unravel them all over the years one by one. This is definitely achievable because the teacher creates the opportunities when we have the capacity to take that next step forward. You wont necessarily be fully successful at the first attempt, so don’t be discouraged or disheartened, keep trying and be determined, your sincerity is far more important than your success. Success will naturally come after time, and the process of fully embodying the teachings needs to be patiently practiced over many, many years.

Each element of spiritual growth opens an inner door that offers increasing  experiences of your Highest Self, ultimately leading to the full identification of your Supreme Reality. Your Highest Self is so radiantly complete and perfect that you can’t expect to fully realise it within months, it takes years and most often lifetimes. But the journey itself is the most important, walking with the  Master day by day, and this is where we have so many wonderful spiritual experiences gradually unfolding in the immediacy of the present moment.


Continued - The journey begins Part 2 - Tribute to Subarata.