Spiritual Development Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

A devotee by the name of Satyakama Jabala approached a respected Guru, in a story related in the Chhandogya Upanishad. He asked for teachings so he could achieve realisation on the spiritual path. The teacher asked him his name and family background, to which the young seeker replied that he did not know who his father was. The teacher was impressed with the truthfulness of the youth and gave him an opportunity. The story goes that the teacher entrusted some cattle to the boy and told him to take them to the forest and when the herd reached 1000 cattle, he should return and would obtain the teachings. The story is variously told as being either 2 or 400 cattle that he started with. Either way, the implication is similar, only that starting with 2 obviously entails more time and more risk. Let us assume then that the number was 400 for purposes of our review. This process involves years of effort. The young individual, with no training or background, had to learn how to care for, feed, tend and protect the cattle against hunger, disease, accident and predation by wild animals. He had to also live a life of solitude focused on achieving his task. The dedication, perseverance and determination he needed to achieve spiritual realisation is obvious. He could not let moods, depression, loneliness, discouragement or fear cause him to give up.

All of us are subject to changes of moods, circumstances and our response to them based on the energy we express, the play of the three Gunas of Nature and their ability to vary our response to circumstances, and the circumstances themselves. If we let the 3 Gunas rule us, at some point we will become angry, or we will give up out of frustration, or we will respond out of fear and the process gets broken. If we add to this the incredible difficulty and complexity of attempting to address and change embedded habits and instincts build up throughout the development of animal life on the planet, and into the conditioning that we undergo as human beings, we can begin to recognise the difficulty and the elusive nature of obtaining a permanent change in any aspect of our existence. Therefore, the seeker is best served by practicing how to separate himself from the changes that take place in the exte
al nature and simply observe from the standpoint of the witness consciousness.

Sri Aurobindo writes: “No sadhak even if he had the capacity of the ancient Rishis and Tapaswis or the strength of a Vivekananda can hope to keep during the early years of his sadhana a continuous good condition or union with the Divine or an unbroken call or height of aspiration. It takes a long time to spiritualise the whole nature and until that is done, variations must come. A constant trust and patience must be cultivated — must be acquired — not the least when things go against — for when they are favourable, trust and patience are easy.”

“The power needed in yoga is the power to go through effort, difficulty or trouble without getting fatigued, depressed, discouraged or impatient and without breaking off the effort or giving up one’s aim or resolution.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, pp. 136-137