In an age where GPS is a feature on most phones, or a moving map on your dashboard with a somewhat irritating voice directing your driving, we understand that the triangulation of three satellites and our constant movement means that our equipment is constantly being fed newer and newer data. Would that we could also remember that our spiritual growth also needs monitoring by three aspects as well – guru, sadhu and sastra. As we encounter new situations, meet new people, read, watch television, hear or read the news, all of these impressions (samskaras) imprint themselves onto our mind. Sometimes that imprinting is so forceful that even a stupid advertising jingle can remain, driving out other important information.

“Sometimes impressions that have been imprinted on the subtle body from experiences in a previous life directly affect the present.”

The hypnotic nature of television is another contributing factor to the great influence of this medium. Your normal waking consciousness is called the ‘beta’ state. When you watch television on the other hand, you enter what is called an ‘alpha’ state; the brain is more calm, relaxed and meditative. You must be extremely careful in this alpha state because you are inordinately receptive to incoming information, rather like a sponge soaking up a liquid.”

When trying to re-plot our spiritual course, we need to evaluate exactly where our good intentions are leading us. What has happened to the decisions that we made to live a more spiritual life? Firstly by taking stock of our situation we can see whether we overestimated our abilities in setting goals. Or perhaps we underestimated our staying power. By considering the GPS system concept we need to see what position we are now in, how far have we strayed from our destination and what do we need to do to get back on track.

When comparing a GPS direction with a route one knows well, you sometimes wonder why the GPS sent you in a different direction to what you would have chosen. Understanding that our intuition about traffic snarl ups, accidents and speeding traps ahead is not all that we would like it to be, it sometimes could be more efficient to follow the GPS.

Gurus, mentors, well-wishers all are interested in our best interest. Watching actual sadhus, holy men, pious people and those not really wanting to gain from their piety, are people who have walked the path beforehand. Their struggles and victories abound with lessons to be learned. Sastra, holy scriptures, well authenticated truthful religious writings form a database of information, which should give us sound information to work with. These are our three satellites for accessing for our spiritual journey.

“The basic claim of religion is that knowledge of spiritual truths beyond our sensory grasp is decending to us from the spiritual world through the aid of various higher beings. At the same time, there are beings more powerful than ourselves who are deceptive an inimical. This means that we ultimately have to develop the power to discriminate between different sources of information. Swami Krishnapada emphasizes the need of personal purification to attain this power of discrimination.”

Some people have a tendency to forget what they have achieved in their quest for perfection, but any slight effort made towards spiritual growth is never overlooked and cannot be diminished.

“In this endeavour there is no loss or diminution and a little advancement on the path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear”

But perfection is not an overnight phenomena. It consists of continually trying to rectify one’s spiritual direction, not content to stay on the plateau of acceptability. There is a need for spiritual eagerness, a vision that sees greater and greater wonders waiting to be realised. But this eagerness, like patience is a necessity obtainable by grace.

“ Contact with an agent of the Lord from the transcendental realm is a rather unusual experience, since most souls simply entangle themselves further in the actions and reactions of materialistic life. It takes a tremendous amount of previously acquired pious credits from past lives to be given the opportunity to break the cycle. What actually happens when one is able to meet with a transcendental agent, or spiritual master? At that most fortunate time, one is given the opportunity to understand how to break out of this material existence and to experience the activities of the spiritual world. We should eagerly listen to and follow the instructions from such empowered agents of the Lord.”

All things therefore being equal, are we really in the spiritual position we want to be or do we want to do something about it - now?