Four steps are laid down in the scriptures to help man succeed in discovering the Divine Reality; discrimination between the permanent and the impermanent, withdrawal from the process of catering to the senses, positive control of the feelings, thoughts and pursuits, and incessant yearning for Liberation from all bonds. Bhakti is the urge, which manifests as all these four endeavours. (SSS Vol.9, p. 106)
The slow and the steady will surely win the race, walking is the safest method of travel, though it may be condemned as slow. Quicker means of travel mean disaster; the quicker the means, the greater the risk of disaster. You should eat only as much as you feel hunger for more will cause disorder. So proceed step by step in Sadhana, making sure of one step before you take another. Do not slide back two paces when you go one pace forward. But even the first step will be unsteady, if you have no faith. So cultivate faith. (SSS Vol.1, p. 25)
The three principal stages on the spiritual path have been given in a number of different ways by the Lord in the Gita. At the end of the 11th chapter, wherein Lord Krishna gave Arjuna a vision of His cosmic form, you will find these three words, Jnatum, Drashtum, and Praveshtum. Jnatum means knowing that the Lord is here. Drashtum means having a direct vision of Him. And Praveshtum means merging with Him. These describe the stages that you must follow to reach the goal; if you seek liberation, you will have to take these three steps. In the first step of Jnatum, you learn through the words of the scriptures or a teacher, that God really exists. But, merely knowing this truth does not give you unlimited joy. You discover that God is here, but you also realize that you and God are separate. This involves the principle of Dvaita, or dualism. Dvaita can serve as the basis for subsequent steps on the path, but in itself, it does not provide much lasting satisfaction.
A river is born from the ocean and ends in the ocean. But how did the river originate? Initially the ocean became clouds. Once the ocean water turned into clouds there was separation and dualism. Clouds are separate; ocean is separate. The water of the oceans is selfish; after it turns into a cloud it becomes sweet. But now the water which has become a cloud comes in the form of rain; you can say it is a rain of love, because this rainwater becomes river and with great enthusiasm rushes to rejoin the ocean. This may be compared to the stage of Vishishtadvaita, or the Drashtum stage, wherein a great anguish and aspiration for getting nearer and nearer to the final goal, develops. When you are in that stage, you yearn with all your heart to reach the native land from which you have become separated. In the case of water in the form of a river, it is impelled to get itself merged back into the ocean from whence it has come. Then, finally, it reaches its goal. That is the stage of Advaita or Praveshtum. (DBG, p. 32 & 37)
Life is like a flight of steps towards the Godhead. You have your foot on the first step when you are born; each day is a step that must be climbed; so be steady, watchful and earnest. Do not count the steps ahead or exult over the steps behind. One step at a time and that well climbed, that is enough success to be satisfied with and to give you encouragement for the next one. Do not slide from the step you have got up on. Every step is a victory to be cherished; every day wasted is a defeat to be ashamed of.
Slow and steady---let that be your maxim! Adhere to a regular routine, a time-robie. Just as the doctor prescribes a certain fixed measure or weight of the drug and warns you that anything less is ineffective and anything more is harmful, so too, have some limit for your spiritual exercises. Do not overdo them or do them casually and without care. The doctors tell you also about the hour of the day and the number of times the drug has to be repeated, for, the action of the quantity taken must be reinforced before it becomes weak. So also, you have to repeat the japam and dhyanam at regular intervals.
Whoever subdues egotism, conquers selfish desires, destroys bestial feelings and impulses, and gives up the natural tendency to regard the body as the self that person is surely on the path of dharma; that person knows that the goal of dharma is the merging of the wave in the sea, the merging of the self in the Over-self. In all worldly activities, you should be careful not to offend propriety or the canons of good nature; you should not play false to the promptings of the inner Voice; you should be prepared at all times to respect the appropriate dictates of conscience; you should watch your steps to see whether you are in someone else’s way; you must be ever vigilant to discover the Truth behind all this scintillating variety. This is your duty, your dharma. (Dharma Vahini, p.5)