Why do some people start on the spiritual path and later abandon it? On spiritual and worldly goals, taking shelter in the spiritual goal, and how to cultivate and protect devotion.
Long ago Sadáshiva said: "Out of millions of living beings, only a few will have the chance to hear talks on spiritual subjects. Of those few, only some will understand the meaning of these talks. Only a part of them will begin to make conscious efforts to move along the path. And very few will remain who reach the end."
People come and go; some stay a little while, some stay longer, some stay for a long time, some stay forever… Why does it happen that some begin to move along the spiritual path, but at some point leave it? In fact, we are all in the process of evolution, so it is impossible to leave the spiritual path. Practicing yoga or meditation does not make a person somehow special or spiritual. What distinguishes a practitioner is the conscious effort to elevate one's mind.
The spiritual path implies a spiritual goal
Very rarely do people come to practice with truly spiritual goals. Most often a person sets some material task: to improve their health, sort out their relationships, get their emotions under control, have certain experiences or states, achieve success, get married, marry a yogi or a vegetarian, and so on. And the most interesting thing is that, by starting on the spiritual path, they get it. A person achieves some of their goals and rises to a certain height, but cannot maintain that status, and begins to fall from that height until a new understanding comes that the goals must be different. And then the person begins to climb to a new height. That is why setting goals must be wise from the very start. If a person from the very beginning aims only at fulfilling their own desires, they will not reach real spiritual goals, because they never wanted that. For example, a person seeks success, but something holds them back: laziness, fear, stiffness, a lack of intuition or creativity, a sluggish, poorly developed intellect. When they begin to practice, all their qualities blossom; they feel they have gained strength and reached their goal. And at this moment they act like an athlete who, having reached the home straight, raises their arms in victory and stops running. This often happens: people come, get what they wanted, and leave. A person is prone to self-deception, believing that a lofty goal brought them to practice, but in fact they are deceiving both themselves and others.
One who renounces the spiritual for the sake of the temporary loses the spiritual and later loses the temporary
A person can have two kinds of goals: a transcendent, spiritual goal, infinite supreme Consciousness, a state of absolute freedom; and a worldly goal, limited by its very nature. A limited goal can be reached quickly, and there may be many such goals. But with a goal of limitless nature this is impossible; it is the only one, and it is the result of a person's entire evolution. If at some point a person stops and ceases spiritual effort, their mind immediately grows cruder, and movement in the opposite direction begins. And then the person loses not only their evolutionary status, but all its attributes as well. After all, we all live in a materially oriented environment, and if we stop making spiritual efforts, we get bogged down in it.
Finding shelter in the spiritual goal
There are many obstacles on the spiritual path: a person's own temptations and external circumstances. This path is strewn with both thorns and roses: sometimes you meet thorns, sometimes roses. In fact, both are obstacles. It happens that people start meditating, and a streak of luck begins in their life: they get promoted at work, a new relationship begins. The person thinks, "This is what I wanted!" And leaves the spiritual path. Or, on the contrary, they are fired from their job, something unpleasant happens. And the person thinks, "What do I need this meditation for?" And gives up the practices. In fact, meditation is not to blame; it only speeds up the processes a person must go through one way or another. Everyone has bright and dark streaks in life. The difference is that if a person is committed to the supreme goal, they walk on calmly, remembering that this is only a streak that will end, and that they simply need to keep moving toward the supreme goal. Commitment to this goal is the key factor in remaining on the spiritual path. That is why setting goals must be wise from the very start. The goal must be spiritual and limitless: supreme Consciousness, God, call it whatever you like. If a person has even a drop of love for the Supreme, all will be well.
As long as two and a half thousand years ago, the Buddha spoke about devotion:
Buddham sharańam gacchámi, Dharmam sharańam gacchámi, Saḿgham sharańam gacchámi
Buddham sharańam gacchámi: I take refuge in the Buddha, in the spiritual teacher.
In the broad sense, the Buddha is not a particular person but one who has attained perfection. A Buddha is one who has "awakened," a spiritual teacher.
Dharmam sharańam gacchámi: I take refuge in dharma.
Dharma means spirituality, a spiritual ideology that consists in understanding what is good and what is bad, and what a person lives for. A spiritual practitioner realizes that the main goal is the liberation of the spirit and service to all that exists. The path to liberation is continuous movement along the path of evolution, the expansion of the mind, aspiration, struggle, overcoming, continuous spiritual effort on the way to infinity. That is sádhaná. Moreover, we do not move on our own alone; it is also a collective movement: as far as the whole planet advances, so far will each individual advance. That is the spiritual ideology, and its uncompromising and unconditional acceptance means taking refuge in dharma.
Saḿgham sharańam gacchámi: I take refuge in the saḿgha.
In the saḿgha means in the company of practitioners, spiritual people who have also decided to move along the path of evolution. When many spiritual seekers of a high level gather together and practice, amazing things happen; you can be inspired simply by watching them. Sometimes a simple phone conversation with a highly advanced spiritual practitioner can inspire a person so much that they receive a new charge of strength and energy. In difficult moments, the company of spiritual seekers is truly what saves a person.
Cultivating and protecting devotion
Sometimes a person suddenly loses their inner mood: other priorities appear, some goals of a material nature, strong desires. They understand that this is temporary, but cannot help themselves and are ready to abandon spiritual effort in order to choose the temporary. In fact, there is nothing terrible in this, and temporary goals can and should be achieved. All of us need to adapt to the reality around us, and for that we also need to grow and develop in every way on the material level. But there are situations when a person is ready to reject the spiritual for the sake of the temporary; this happens, and they cannot help themselves either. That is why it is important not only to cultivate devotion but also to protect it. For this there are moral principles, rules of conduct, the moral code of yama and niyama (you can watch about the principles of harmonious conduct on the channel). Every time a person deviates from the truth, is dishonest, causes harm and pain to others, something dies inside them. And in the end we see people who are "dead" inside: they have exhausted this treasure, squandered their humanity, and all that is left is a frame, a body with no life in it. This is where cynicism, egoism and materialism come from. To keep this from happening, one must do sádhaná and follow moral principles, consciously developing commitment to the supreme goal and to the path one is walking. Until a person reaches their goal, they must not stop, because they will not be satisfied with any limited result. Devotion is the greatest treasure, and it lives in everyone's heart.
When a person comes to the path of spirituality, they gain a longing for infinity. The very nature of spiritual practice is such that it gradually awakens the subtle layers of the mind. With their whole being, a person begins to sense what lies beyond, and gains this experience. Priorities change, and alongside their temporary goals, a person also gains an infinite one.