WHY RELIGIOUS PRACTICES ARE IGNORED?

WHY RELIGIOUS PRACTICES ARE IGNORED?

Every intelligent person can, if he considers the problem, realize that through the attainment of birth as a human being, some exceptional gain must accrue to us. Food, drink, sleep, the joy of procreation and other forms of worldly enjoyment can be gained even in lower forms of life like that of beasts and insects. If the life of a human being is wasted only in the attainment of this joy, what do we achieve through the human birth? The supreme goal of human life is to gain that incomparable and true happiness, the like of which there is nothing in the world. The happiness is `God Realization.'

But although this is so, regarding the possession of wealth, women, children and other form of sense-enjoyment only as supreme happiness, the majority of people remain infatuated with them. Dutiful men who strive for real happiness are met few and far between.

The Lord said: "Of thousands of men some rare soul strives to realize Me; of those striving Yogis, again some rare one (devoting himself exclusively to Me) Knowing Me in reality." (Gita VII. 3)

According to this statement of the Lord, nowadays also among the few, who strive for the attainment of true happiness, scarcely any climbs up to the final storey of achievement. The majority of Sadhakas stopafter pursuing a little practice. They cannot, therefore, raise themselves to a superior spiritual level. To my understanding, the following may be the cause of their lack of success: -

1. Qualified propagators of this teaching are very few in the world. For men of renunciation, learning, and right conduct, capable of hard labour, and true saints alone can be the propagators of this teaching.

2. Being satisfied with slight improvements Sadhakas do not feel any need for great spiritual efforts.

3. Some Sadhakas get tired after pursuing a little amount of practice. they find themselves at their wit's end considering their discipline to be of no particular benefit to them.

4. People generally lack faith in the attainment of true happiness, for as in sense-enjoyments, pleasure is not experienced in the initial stages of the spiritual practice. This contributes to lack ofdiligence in the practice.

5. Some people regard the attainment of this happiness as beyond their power, and therefore remain sunk in despair.

Besides these, some other causes also may be mentioned but among them all, ignorance of lack of diligence alone is the primary cause. Man should, therefore, devote himself to the performance of his duty with care and diligence.

(Author: Jayadayal Goyandka)