Patience and Perseverance

Wisdom Teachings
Fundamentals of Spiritual Life

When we study a wisdom book, we usually do not incorporate what we study into our lives. But in this way what we study evaporates from our brain. Even if we study something, understand it and keep it within us, this is no guarantee that we will be able to remember it at the right moment. It is often the case that at the time when we need to remember something, our personality simply reacts and we cannot remember the wisdom we have studied. We then do not act according to what we have studied.

We need not become frustrated. It simply shows that when it comes to action, we are still the same, even though we have studied for a long time and understood a lot. We must accept what we are and try to take a step forward from there. Only with patience and perseverance can we develop a new habit and the corresponding awareness. No Master can ever help a person to take up a new rhythm if he does not help himself. If the Masters could do it, they would have transformed the whole world long ago. They can help us from a certain point, but we have to come to that point first. Until then, the Master cannot let us join his group and thus take us into the sphere of influence of his aura. We have to be ready to train our personality with patience, tolerance and in an intelligent way.

The personality is subordinate to the soul; it should accept the soul. When we are too much in the personality, then the soul waits withdrawn. It has all the patience to wait until we gain the patience to work with it. The soul's patience arises out of compassion towards the personality. It is the compassion we receive from a Master of Wisdom. Through his patience every stone turns out to be a philosopher's stone. The training tunes the personality to the soul, so that the soul quality is transmitted through the personality. This continuous effort is discipleship. Before we become an accepted disciple, our consistency, reliability and ability are tested.

Every exercise requires patience. Without patience we cannot achieve anything in the external world nor in the subtle world; if we are impatient, we fail. Every day we can make an effort to see the light of consciousness in the surrounding forms. Or we can practice recollecting the I AM as regularly as possible. This exercise of recollecting has to continue until we have reached the state where the experience of the I AM is consolidated. Or we try to stay at the point of consciousness in the heart. Out of habit we go out again and again and wander around in our thoughts. But then we keep coming back, no matter how often. If we practice patiently for years, we slowly get into the habit of returning.

Our thoughts can quickly change. We may think today that from tomorrow on we will get up very early, but tomorrow morning we may think that we can sleep longer. Our mind is extremely fast; it is like a monkey jumping out from our intended purpose. We cannot rely on it. However, we should not be discouraged, but rather we should play joyfully with our mind and patiently bring it back. The mind must slow down before we can begin to pray or to meditate. Therefore, we are advised to breathe in and out deeply before praying. This calms down the mind and makes the prayers easier. A hyperactive mind becomes restless and develops resistance. If we react discouraged and angry, we have lost the game. Resistance cannot be neutralized by arguments and discussions.

Existing patterns and habits can only be changed with persevering effort by creating new patterns through new habits. Patanjali says we must practice constantly like the flow of oil. With water there can be breaks, oil flows without breaks.

Patanjali also advises us to observe the movement of our respiration and repeat it constantly. If our mind walks away from the respiration and goes out, we bring it back again. Out of habit it drifts away again. It does not matter; we bring it back again and apply it upon respiration. Our respiration should be slow, soft, deep and uniform. There is nothing to understand, but we should practice it for five minutes today, tomorrow and then for ten days. After a month, we will know the taste of something we did not know before. With years of practice, the mind will become accustomed to remain inwardly oriented and to immerse itself in the “music of the soul”, in the double sound of pulsation, SOHAM, in order to then realize the uni-syllabled sound OM.

When we stay with pulsation patiently and persistently over a longer period of time, then certain ideas appear from within. We should not speak about what we have received and heard within. We can write down the thoughts. Often, we find that some of the ideas are true and some are not; very few are real. So, we should not act upon the ideas immediately, but stay close to the pulsation and wait patiently. The constant practice of sitting near the inner pulsating principle slowly eliminates the nonsensical thoughts. With perseverance and patient waiting for reaffirmation, we eliminate the danger of falling into hallucinations.

At some point we will know whether or not it is an error of our mind. The true ideas indicate the responsibilities which we may incur in the next few days. Reality approaches us and time brings us to the point we have already been informed about. We may meet certain teachers and certain books or situations approach us; they do not come to us by outer search.

When we seek inner guidance to a problem, we should not expect an immediate solution. It will manifest itself in due time. There is no need to rely on guesswork and faulty advice from others. If we wait patiently and with inner optimism, the way will become clear and the needed doors will open. Occult books or the teachings of a Master can guide us. These books are living things, and the persistent relating to the teachings guides us. Thus, we are drawn to the Master. As long as we are sincere, the Master will patiently teach us everything from within. In this way we are more interested, because it has come to us from within. We may not like it when someone tells us outside, but when it comes from inside, we will do it by our own interest.

Sometimes it is very difficult for the Masters to transmit the wisdom to us. For the whole course of wisdom covers a much longer period than we understand. We generally lack perseverance and sense of purpose. It is like a child who is not present inwardly at school, so the wonderful teaching given by the teacher is taken up only in fragments.

In the same way, there are situations in our lives in which we smile at others and at the same time hand out and take injuries. This may captivate our interest for ten or twenty years. In the meantime, death may seek out the physical body, but in the next incarnation we have new points of friction that attract our attention. Sometimes many births and deaths pass before we really delve into the lesson the teacher gives us.

Master Morya says, “Until today we wonder how we should talk to you, how we should teach you, for, spoken and written words are not understood at the level at which they are expressed. Nevertheless, we continue our effort to link up to your comprehension. While you are affected by irritation, doubt, despair, anger, hatred, we continue to help as a mother helps the irritated infant. We wait in patience for your growth!”

The Masters work with great patience, love and understanding for the problems of the people, because every Master of Wisdom we adore now, was also an ordinary man in the past. Over thousands of years, through births and rebirths, they remember themselves, their own mission in life and the continuity of their purpose. Even in difficult situations, they never tire of repeating for our recollection until we have assimilated the teaching for action. They do not teach to give us new doctrines, since there is basically only one doctrine of Truth. They use variety as a technique so that we develop interest and commitment and it does not become monotonous for us. Nevertheless, students sometimes find the teachings monotonous; but they do not feel monotonous of repeated eating, talking and wasting time.

The Great Ones include those whom the society excludes. Inclusion requires much patience and tolerance. Especially in times of crisis, the qualities of patience, perseverance and friendliness come into play. They are the foundation upon which the building of wisdom is built. May our orientation and reliability contribute to this foundation, so that the Masters can work with us.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Ashram. Regulations for Entry. Div. seminar notes/ E. Krishnamacharya: Initiation. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India