Here are the seven “laws of spiritual life” as listed by Swami Yatiswaranandaji in his monumental book “Meditation and Spiritual Life”.
- Whatever we take to be real for the time being, affects our whole personality, thoughts, emotions and actions. Our whole being responds to this reality.
- Our concept of reality depends upon our concept of ourselves; that is, man’s conception of God evolves with the evolution of his consciousness.
- Spiritual awakening is the transformation of one’s consciousness, which means moving from a lower center to a higher center of consciousness.
- Though distinct from the moral imperative, spiritual aspiration must be supported by it. The practice of concentration (meditation), if not preceded and followed by purification of mind and sublimation of instincts, is likely to lead the aspirant astray.
- Each aspirant must first understand where he is and begin from there; but making the best use of the protection and support given to him during the early years of his life, he should outgrow them and stand on his own legs, drawing his sustenance more from the Divine than from men and institutions. This is the law of spiritual growth. It means that an aspirant can move forward in the spiritual path only if he is prepared to abandon the supports which helped him in the earlier stage.
- The realization of the Absolute – “the transcendental Reality” – lies always through the realization of the immanent divine Principle. The holy Personality (Ista Devata) is a manifestation of this divine Principle.
- The more our consciousness expands, the more we see the Divine in all people and the more spiritual we become.
We had a nice discussion on these seven points in last week’s class by Swami Muktipadanandaji in “Vivekananda Yuvak Sangha” in Ramakrishna Math, Ulsoor, Bangalore.