Converting What You Read

Into Personal Realization

The Yoga Practice of Spiritual Study
and Introspection for Self-Transformation

By Swami Anandamoy Giri

Copyright © 2001 Self-Realization Fellowship. All rights reserved.

T he path to God-realization given to us by the Master, Paramahansa Yogananda,
shows us how to put into practice the all-round program for spiritual devel-
opment set forth in India’s scriptures that have come down from the higher ages.
In his Yoga Sutras, the great sage Patanjali distils the essence of spirituality into an
Eightfold Path known as Raja Yoga (the “royal” or complete path to union with the
Divine). It begins with yama and niyama* — the prerequisite foundation of moral prin-
ciples and religious practices — and leads the devotee through successive steps that
yield an interiorized state of meditation and, ultimately, oneness with the Infinite
Bliss of Spirit.
In this class, we are focusing on the foundation principles that are, specifically,
the latter part of Patanjali’s niyama: self-discipline, self-study, and devotion to God
and guru. Swami Sri Yukteswar, the great master of wisdom who was Paramahansa
Yogananda’s guru, made these very easy to understand. He wrote that all three of
them are fulfilled by “following the instructions of the guru” — in essence, “obedi-
ence to the holy precepts of the divine personages.Ӡ In the guidance Paramahansaji
gave to us disciples, one of the ways this is put into practice is by having a half-hour
of study of the Guru’s teachings each day, combined with introspection to help us
apply those teachings in daily life.
When we start out on the spiritual path, the inclination is to read as much as
possible — to get acquainted with the teachings, to find answers to our questions
about what life is all about. This is necessary in the beginning, granted. But it is not
what is meant by introspective study of the Guru’s teachings. If it is only intellec-
tual, study produces what Master called “educated fools.” Scholars may be able to
quote the scriptures backward and forward and discuss and debate them endlessly,
but without ever necessarily attaining realization. They are like the donkey who
carries a large bag of gold on its back, never knowing its immense value.
There is an entirely different purpose behind Paramahansaji’s advice to have
a half-hour of daily study. To read Master’s writings deeply, reverently, and with
the right method to assimilate what you read is to tune in with his vibrations. Next
to meditation, spiritual study ranks among the most effective keys for attunement
with the guru, for remaining inwardly receptive to his counsel, his guidance, his
spiritual protection.

*  Yama corresponds to the universal moral principles found in all religions; niyama consists of prescriptive
principles — purity of body and mind (shaucha), contentment in all circumstances (santosh), self-discipline
(tapas), self-study or contemplation (svadhyaya), and devotion to God and guru (ishvara-pranidhana).

†  The Holy Science by Swami Sri Yukteswar (published by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India).

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 Paramahansaji said: “When I am gone, the teachings will be the guru.” Now,
often this is misunderstood; it does not mean that the Master is gone! It means
that in the teachings we find exactly the guidance that the early disciples received
from Master. That is why he went on to say, “Through the teachings you will be
in tune with me and with the great Gurus who sent me.” It is not only guidance,
but help and protection against getting sidetracked from the Goal. Maya, worldly
delusion, is so subtle that it can easily make our minds veer off in the wrong direc-
tion, without our recognizing it. Digressions may seem insignificant to start with,
but the trend can go on and on and on until suddenly you have a rude awakening
as to how far you have strayed. I remember one time a group of us monks were
with Master, and he called for one who was not present. When that monk arrived,
Master said to him: “Your mind is off. You are not here anymore.” Just those brief
words; nothing more — that is how he often put an erring disciple straight. This is
exactly the kind of protection you will find if you read and absorb his teachings
every day, even just a little bit. Some pithy correction or inspiration will pop into
your mind when you need it.
Often I hear people wishfully exclaim, “Oh, I wish I had been with Master when
he was here on earth! I would have been able to make more progress with him to
guide me!” Well, having received his guidance during his lifetime, I can tell you that
it was quite different from what you might be visualizing! Very rarely did Master
sit down with those of us who lived in the ashram to impart detailed instruction or
counsel, or tell us exactly: “You do this,” or “you do that.” With guests who came
for his counsel, Master sometimes spent many hours. But when ashram disciples
had problems he would generally make only a few very brief comments, and then
say, “Read my teachings.” He wanted us to strengthen our inner attunement with
him — and with God through him — because we would find much greater help and
guidance by making the effort to have that spiritual contact. This may be very diffi-
cult to accept, but it is so. I know from my own experience.

T he Master told us: “It is not what you read that can give you liberation, but what
you do with what you read.” Here is the way he taught us to study in order to
assimilate the truth in spiritual writings: Take a passage from one of his books, or
one of the Lessons, and read it all the way through once, in order to get the overall
picture. (This is usually where people stop! But it is only the beginning of true study
and true assimilation.) Now go back and read it again — this time jotting down in a
notebook what are the important points in that passage. Just reading is usually not
enough. If we write down the points that seem to us most valuable, the material is
impressed much deeper in our minds.

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 Now read it a third time. But this time, instead of reading straight through, take
just a few lines, or a paragraph, or a sentence — one complete thought — and read it
over and over, several times to get everything out of it. Contemplate each thought
for a while before going on to the next one; and write down your understanding of it.
Finally, review the thoughts you have written down, and think about each one:
“How can I apply this in my daily life?” This is perhaps the most important step of
all, for it is how the philosophy is converted from theory to application: “How can
I apply this in my personal attitudes, in my daily actions, in my striving to change
and better myself?” and so on. Once again write down your thoughts — detailing
how you plan to apply what you have just read.
Remember, this is not an intellectual exercise, but a method to extract the truth
from spiritual writings and make it an integral part of oneself. This is what consti-
tutes self-discipline. It is the practical application of truth that will lead us closer to
God. And it is the sincerest form of devotion to God and Guru.*
At the beginning of each day, take one thought from the Master’s writings. Make
this the motto, so to speak, of your day. In this way you will gradually ingrain
Master’s counsel into your being. This is why we have the Spiritual Diary.† If you
read the thought for the day after your morning meditation, for example, and
concentrate on it for a few moments, you will find that thought coming back to
guide you during your activities.

T o be most effective, spiritual study should go hand-in-hand with introspection,

self-analysis. Introspection lets us observe how successful we are in incorporat-
ing into our behaviour and attitudes the truths we have been reading about.
“It is a good idea to keep a mental diary,” Master told us. “Before you go to bed
each night, sit for a short time and review the day. See what you are becoming. Do
you like the trend of your life? If not, change it.”
In practising introspection, we should be honest and analyze not just our outer
actions; we have to go deeper and look at our motives. Our actions may have the
appearance of right behaviour; but God judges not the actions so much as the
intention behind them; He watches the heart. If we are honest and introspect prop-
erly, we may be quite surprised to discover the inner attitudes we have harboured
during the day.

*  “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46, Bible).

†  Spiritual Diary: An Inspirational Thought for Each Day of the Year, published by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.

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 Now, there is a right way and a wrong way to practise self-analysis. When we
honestly look at our motives — which can be quite shattering to the ego — we are not
trying to tear ourselves to shreds, so that we are left with a deep sense of inferior-
ity. The purpose is simply to discover wherein we need to improve. A businessman,
when he takes inventory and does his bookkeeping, wants to find out where he is in
the red, where he is working at a loss, in order to make corrections so that his busi-
ness operates more profitably. It should be the same with our introspection. We are
not trying to find out what fools we are; we simply want to be conscious of those
aspects of our life that need improvement.

W e should never identify ourselves with our weaknesses. In reality, we are the
soul — we are perfect. The soul always has been perfect; it is perfect now; and
it will be perfect unto eternity. We have gathered around our souls a covering of
maya: the ego and its identification with the body, its habits, likes and dislikes, all
the idiosyncrasies that make up the human personality. But we are not this person-
ality. No matter how much a person may be burning with temptation, no matter
how many wrong habits he may have, it is delusion to identify mentally with these
flaws. They are not you. You are the soul, not the covering. The greatest sin, our
Guru said, is to call yourself a sinner.
When you notice a negative quality in your nature, do not concentrate on it;
instead, put your whole attention and energy on cultivating the opposite good
quality. This is transmutation; it is the whole secret to success. If we are dwelling all
the time on our flaws, we are actually making them stronger — reinforcing them by
focusing on and identifying ourselves with them.
For example, a person makes a mistake, and then the natural reaction is, “I am
weak. I have succumbed. I have to fight this character flaw.” But he will never
overcome it without applying the principle of how habits work. Any habit, espe-
cially if it is a strong one, is the result of a pattern of thought or action that has
been repeated many times, creating a deep mental “groove” in the brain. Master
explained that habits are automatic mental machines, which save us initial will and
energy in performing an action. A good habit is wonderful, because it makes good
actions so much easier. Unfortunately, the principle also applies to bad habits.
It is nearly impossible to get rid of a deep-seated bad habit or unspiritual quality
simply by fighting it. You cannot forget me as long as you look at me and concentrate
on me. It is the same with habits: As often as you put the needle of your attention
into that groove, automatically it plays, just like a record player. You don’t have to
guide the needle around, it just plays! The way to fight that bad habit is by putting

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the needle of your attention — your will power — into a different groove, into a
positive groove. That way you create new habit-patterns. The negative automati-
cally dies away for lack of attention; you literally crowd it out of your consciousness
by concentrating on its positive opposite.
Let’s say a person becomes angry easily, or he is lazy or procrastinates in his
work, or has some other bad habit. He writes those things down in order to know
what he has to work on. Then, in the way described above, he studies the Guru’s
teachings that describe the opposite good quality — such as peace, or willing enthu-
siasm — and sets a plan for himself to cultivate that in his daily life. This is the way
to spiritualize life.
Master gave this illustration: If you have a thorn in your flesh, you take another
thorn in order to remove the first one. Likewise, if you have a bad habit, you use the
opposite good habit in order to get the other one out. Then you throw away both
thorns. There is deep truth in this. It is clear we are not to identify ourselves with
our shortcomings; but neither should we identify ourselves with our virtues. If we
do, those virtues can become tainted with egotism and pride: “Oh, I can concen-
trate better than he can”; or, “I do not fall asleep in meditation, but she does”; or, “I
am better at this or that than other people are.” Instead, we should realize: “I am
not the human personality with its positive and negative traits and qualities. I am
not my faults, I am not my virtues. I am the perfect soul.” The soul is beyond the
compulsion of all habits — good and bad. Only in that consciousness lies freedom,
the unfettered will under all circumstances “to do what we ought to do when we
ought to do it.”
If you put into practice what we have discussed today, you will find the Guru
inwardly guiding and helping you to correct and improve your thinking and your
attitudes. These are what are important, for from them spring all of our actions. So
make time for spiritual study and introspection. Half an hour isn’t much, when
you consider how much time is often wasted in trivialities, or in dealing with the
effects of wrong behaviour. The more deeply you study Master’s teachings, the
more you will perceive his presence and blessings in your life. There comes a natu-
ral guidance, a natural attunement and unity with him. This is how the teachings
become the guru. In them is his counsel; by our following it, the true Guru, the
inner spiritual Guru, becomes a reality.