-- Sri K.C.Srihari

Dear Brother and Sisters,

The above sentence is taken from the message ‘Peep into Reality’ delivered at Raichur on 16th January, 1970. I share a few of my thoughts on this topic.

Master says in this message ‘I may say here that Reality is not the field for cowards. Lion-hearted men alone can dare approach Reality and men are made so, by Natural Path’.

He goes on to say that “The Natural Path system did not arise accidentally. It was given graciously to mankind waiting in eager expectations. The Natural Path system adopts natural ways for God realization. And to adopt them in the daily routine of life, it starts with meditation which is the chief source of inviting the Grace hidden in the bosom of God.” (SDG, Page 27)

A person who is lion hearted is one who is very brave and magnanimous. Master says in another message that “A courageous start is all that is needed for the purpose.” (Easiest way to god realization, SDG Page 138)

Master says in his message at Bangalore that “Nervousness, you should remove yourself. A warrior is never nervous on the field, because he has some aim before him. The courage starts when confidence is there; and confidence is there when you have willed to reach the destination.” (SDG Page 38)

So, to start with we must have a confidence that we can reach the goal of becoming a balanced and just person. Having the goal before us and proceeding steadily under the guidance of a capable master, we start progressing towards the goal. The influx of Pranahuti gives us continuous support throughout our sadhana for the confidence that we started with initially. The practice of meditation on Point A and Point B gives us the courage to face the onslaught of the inputs of media and others around us. Of course, switching off our television sets would help. Our priorities become clear to us and we put sadhana first above all other things. It requires courage to follow our priorities at all costs. A number of reasons are given by aspirants justifying their not keeping sadhana as a priority. It would be better to gird up our loins if we are serious about our destination.

As we continue practicing our nature to be truthful becomes more mature or rather natural to us. Our nature of being dependent on Master develops and we get the courage of accepting miseries as divine blessings for our own good. We are made brave by the practice of the commandment 5. Commandment 6 asks us to know all people as our brethren and treat them as such. We learn magnanimity in the process and learn to forgive others and treat them as our brothers. Our heart begins to expand to encompass all existence and we are able to take everything as coming from Divinity for our own good. This enables us to feel gratitude and our revengeful attitude towards others is removed. Only one with a large heart or a lion heart can let go. This lion heartedness leads to development of qualities of forgiveness, sacrifice, tolerance which are not possible otherwise.

Following of commandment 10 requires a lot of courage. It requires one to accept mistakes and repent for wrongs committed. Courage is required for one to be naked before the Master. It requires courage to face our mistakes squarely and repent for them. Begging forgiveness requires willingness for the shattering of the ego or falsehood built up by us which again requires a brave heart.

Master says towards the end of the message that “Reality dawns upon him alone who goes back along with Nature making himself subtler and subtler. Unless the grossness is completely off, we cannot even peep into Reality.”(SDG Page 28).

It is not enough to say that we almost swam across the river. Stopping in the middle of the river will only drown you. Perseverance and confidence to reach the goal that we originally started with takes us to the destination. Changes in the Natural path do not happen overnight. They are gradual and subtle. It is only by writing our diaries that we can see the changes that have happened in our consciousness over a period of time. The Natural path makes us lion hearted by bringing awareness of our limitations as well as that of our limitlessness. We have to exercise our wisdom to select limitation or limitlessness.

Once we are made lion hearted by the Natural Path, we do not need an assurance. For the lion, nobody need place him on the throne. By his own worth, he becomes a king. We have to understand that the purpose of us becoming lion hearted is to serve the Master. It is His consciousness that needs to be expressed.

Let us all become lion hearted by fixing up our priorities, following the methods and commandments given by the Master SriRamchandraji Maharaj, and taking the assistance of the Pranahuti so that the roar of the Master is heard in everyone’s heart.