1.Fear of failure
One of the main reasons people let up is fear of failure. “What if I try really hard and I don’t get there?” To answer this question we need to remember the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita which tell us there is no failure. However far we get in this lifetime, that’s where we will take up the spiritual path again in our next life.
God and Guru bring us these choices over and over. Often, they take us to the point of failure so we can ask ourselves, “What do I really want?” “What if I fail?” We simply have to say, “Because of my karma, I may not achieve freedom even if I do my best, but I’m moving in that direction and I’ll go as far as I can in this lifetime
2. Fear of the effort involved
Another reason we let up is the fear of the effort involved. We think, “What a massive job this is. How can I ever put out the amount of energy it will take to find God?”
But it’s a mistake to think, “It’s only going to get harder and harder.” The truth is, as Swami Kriyananda often said, the spiritual path is “at first difficult and then effortlessly liberating.” We need to understand that the more energy we put out on the spiritual path, the more the universe supports and sustains us.
3. Fear of loss of self
Another reason we let up is the fear of loss of self. The ego is afraid. “I know who I am right now, but I’m not sure who I’m going to become.”
In one of the most beautiful passages in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, “The soul is that which cannot die.” Krishna explains that even those limiting parts of ourselves never die; they simply get transmuted into higher expressions of ourselves. So when we begin to think, “I’m pretty good the way I am,” we should try to break through the limiting thoughts and say, “I want to experience that higher expression of myself, my soul nature.”
4. Four: Uncertainty about the goal
Another reason we let up is our uncertainty about the goal: samadhi. We’ve read about it and we’ve heard people talk about it, but we don’t know what it is. It’s as though we’re not sure where we’re going and wondering how we can get the thrust to get there.
For the sincere devotee, samadhi is an extension of where we are right now, and every step of the way is a step closer to the goal. When you sit and meditate, do you feel peace? Do you feel joy? Do you feel freedom? We all feel something. Use those feelings as markers along the way. We’re moving in that direction already and one day we will reach the goal.
Think of the hours it takes for athletes to prepare for the Olympics. They don’t know if they will get the gold medal, but they try for the gold, and that’s what we need to do. The spiritual path is not competitive. We can all get the gold; we can all get there. Even though we’re not entirely certain what “there” is, our hearts know. We wouldn’t be on the spiritual path if we hadn’t had glimpses of that freedom.
5. Forgetfulness of the goal
Another thing that causes us to let up is forgetfulness. Yogananda says, “Material entanglements, sweet and mysterious, make us forget who and what we really are.” We look at our lives and we start thinking, “Oh, my life is my job, my friends, and my family,” and we get lost in that world. And we forget what motivated us to pursue the spiritual path, to seek God.
To re-motivate yourself, try to remember what it was like when you first saw Yogananda’s picture, or when you first read Autobiography of a Yogi, or when you first began realizing, “I don’t think this world is going to make me happy.” Let’s prompt our memory. “Why did I come onto the spiritual path in first place? Let me not forget that.”
6. A sense of unworthiness
Another thing that holds us back from totally committing our energy to the spiritual search is a sense of unworthiness: “I’m not good enough. Maybe those people who’ve been at Ananda Village from the beginning are going to find God, but the chances for me are not so good.”
Swami Sri Yukteswar said, “the past lives of all men are dark with many shames, but all things in the future will improve if you’re making the right spiritual effort now.” We need to say, “Whatever I’ve been in this life or another life does not define who I am.” I’m now trying to move forward and not accrue any more bad karma.
Let the journey continue......
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