Picture: Krishna as a cowherd boy; by Gargi (Lakshmi of Anandashram)
One of the remarkable things about our spiritual path is that the benefit of its practice is not just for an imagined future, but it is realized in the here and now.
Many who follow religious ideals think that the rewards for leading a spiritual life will not be known until arriving at a much anticipated after-life. This deferred gratification can take many forms, but it justifies withholding from doing things you would really like to do now, so that God and heaven may reward you later.
The spiritual “rewards” I have known have come embedded in my practice itself. Communing with God brings tremendous peace and bliss; being His instrument of service in the world gives me real joy and fulfillment; and living in complete surrender to Divine Will makes me know what right action truly is. I would not trade this life for any other.
The vows Mother had me take at Kriya have the same benefits. Not drinking alcohol or using recreational drugs was not easy in the beginning. But now it is not only easy, it makes me feel ill to even imagine going down that road. Not smoking cigarettes, how stupid would it be to take up that habit? And no sex without marriage–how much trouble, confusion, sorrow and pain that saves me, and I would never know the more profound pleasures there are to be found in a committed, long-term marriage.
If I enact a thought experiment and imagine that there was no reward in an afterlife for living a life of truthfulness and spiritual discipline, would I regret having lived my life in this way? Absolutely not. The life I live here brings me the greatest happiness, and I would not change a single part of it.
There are many people who live lives they know are not in sync with their own highest good, yet they continue to do so without any serious thought to changing their habits. This lack of harmony with their inner knowing causes them great suffering. However, when your life comes into balance and you have congruity between Spirit, thought, word and action, then you have a credible claim on peace today.
It can seem that others are zooming by you by taking short cuts and living out of harmony with nature and Spirit’s lawful principles. But believe me, they will never know the simple peace and joy you experience in finding God.
Whether your dharma has you living in a cave or a mansion, whether you are in the humblest or most visible vocation, if it is right for you then you need not envy anyone in this whole world; for you are exactly where your loving Creator has placed you. At times it may be a great struggle to get there, but living in your true Self fulfills all of your heart’s desires today, from moment to moment.