Page 156 - Soul's Divine Journey

13 soul’s dIvIne JourneY

spiritual exercise actually yields better results for West-
erners, given their mental makeup, their attention span,
and the time constraints of their active lifestyles. as the
Western culture changes, of course, the disciplines will
again change as well, for the time will come when the lan-
guage, dress, and lifestyle of our present culture evolves to
the point where it is nearly unrecognizable to the citizens
of today. and likewise, whoever the sat guru may be at
that time will then have to assess the culture and the col-
lective consciousness and alter the policies and require-
ments accordingly.
I set no dietary requirements for my students, but I
do urge them to take proper care of their physical bodies.
I have no issue with an occasional social drink, as long as
my students are not dependent upon alcohol or any other
mind-altering substance. The sweet elixir that is the sound
Current, or the shabda, does not mix well with such ex-
cesses. however, rather than vows of total abstinence, I
ask my students to create balance in their individual lives.
This applies not only to food, alcohol, recreational drugs,
or sexual activity, but also to all life, whether work and
leisure, sleep and activity, or even the giving and receiving
of the spirit.
There is no way that anyone can permanently re-
linquish one’s imbalance or lack of moderation, one’s
attachments and crutches, without first replacing them with
something greater. until you get the divine sound Current
roaring through your veins, this is nearly impossible to do.
one of the most successful techniques of the negative
power within you involves its effort to get you to believe
that you must quit a certain behavior before you can be a
spiritual person. The individual then applies all kinds of
personal will and great mental effort to the task, conven-
iently forgetting the Master’s help. This is because most