
Success in Self Transformation - How?
By Swami Veda Bharati
How is one to succeed in practising the principles suggested here?
- Keep daily meditation. It will grant you insights and will verify the factualness of what is presented in these pages.
- Keep your forehead relaxed in all situations, even when running from a fire or ire.
- Every 2-3 hours, do 2-3 minutes of breath-awareness with mantra (even with eyes open when in a meeting where closing the eyes will be inappropriate) whether sitting, standing or wherever. Do keep doing it. It will change your temperament.
- Self-observation. Observing, taking note, every time one has not quite managed to remain true to the principles (Was there a touch of unnecessary harshness in my tone of spoken/written word? Did I neglect the principle of non-anger, humility? Did I show off authority?)
- Sankalpa. Resolve to do better next time. Not guilt, not self-condemnation, not ‘giving-up-on-oneself’. Just renewed sankalpa.
- Select (A) one principle you find the easiest to practice, and (B) one principle you find most difficult to practice as totally against your habitual temperament. Start practising.
- Devise your own methods to apply these principles.
- Note your successes in these practices mentally; let the moments of those successes be remembered and serve as inspiration for the future. These successes will show their benefits to you.
- Do not let these successes become source of pride in you (how much I have advanced! How high I am!! Oh, how humble I am!!!). Let them only inspire you for the future continuity of their applications.
- When you have changed your temperament regarding the (A) and (B) in (6) above, move on to other principles; those will now become much easier.
These are the ways of all sadhana.
Svasti panthaam anu-charema (Veda): may you walk on the path of svasti (su+asti= ‘all beautiful and harmonious’. ‘Is’).
Recommended Readings
- Creative Use of Emotions by Swami Rama
- Art of Joyful Living by Swami Rama
- Mind the Playground of Gods by Swami Veda Bharati
- You and Your Emotions by Swami Veda Bharati
Editor’s Note
This is a chapter from the book – “Sadhana in Applied Spirituality” by Swami Veda Bharati.