Page 6 - All India Magazine Sep-2026

higher consciousness. These things are no fantastic invention
of mine which one can dismiss as a new-fangled and untested
absurdity; they are recognised methods which have succeeded
in thousands of cases and here also there are plenty who have
found their effect. But whatever method is used will not bring
its effect at once; it must be done persistently, simply, directly
till it succeeds. If it is done with a mind of doubt or watching
it as an experiment to see if it succeeds or if it is continually
crossed by a spirit of hasty despondency saying constantly,
"You see it is all useless," then it ought to be obvious that the
opening will be very difficult, because there is that clogging it
every time there is a pressure or a push to open. That is why I
wanted you to get rid of these two things and have harped on
that so much, because I know by my own experience and that
of others how strongly they can stand in the way of what you
seek. For you are not the only one who have been troubled by
these two obstacles; most have had to struggle against them.
If one can get rid of them in their central action, the survival of
their activity in the circumference does not so much matter; for
then the opening becomes possible, both to make and to keep
and the rest can follow.
CWSA 31: 729-30

Japa and ascetic practices
It is not a life of Sannyasa or a Yoga that can be done by
Japa etc. but something much more difficult, so difficult that
even those who have a call do not find it easy to go through
to the end, and for those who have not the call, it would
be impossible. If he likes, however, he can go on practising
his Japa with an aspiration towards this path and if he gets
any experiences by which a call to it becomes evident, then
I can reconsider his case. CWSA 35: 554

6 All India Magazine, September 2026