I am in earnest search of a Guru who can emphatically say that he has realized Brahman or the eternal Truth or God. Can you give trace of such a man? May I take the liberty to ask you whether you have realized Brahman?

The queries you have asked are quite common to all sincere aspirants in the spiritual path.

Suppose I tell you that a certain “X” is a realized soul, how can you verify my statement and how far will you be benefited by him?

Realized souls are not rare. Ordinary ignorant-minded persons cannot easily recognize them. Only a few persons who are pure and are embodiments of all virtuous qualities can understand realized souls and they only will be benefited by their company.

There is no use of running hither and thither in search of realized men. Even if Lord Krishna remains with you, He cannot do anything for you, unless you are fit to receive Him. Realize this point well and purify yourself by Nishkama Karma Yoga: charity, concentration, meditation, japa, brahmacharya and control of senses.

Testing a Guru is highly difficult. Don’t use your intellect here. Have faith. The real aspirant is quite free from such questions and doubts. You will be miraculously helped if you believe in my words.

Is it too much for a teacher to make his followers great?

The question assumes that the teacher has attachment for his disciple in preference to others. If he had that, he would not be a spiritual teacher, because the first qualification for a spiritual man is conquest of attachment. The fact is that out of millions, one is found to have the qualification and it is he who comes up as ‘the great’— the superman. Each such great man is surrounded by men who are attracted by his inherent charm. But those who are so surrounding are not the people who are qualified to be masters. They are just ordinary men and no more.

A rather unusual lady studied for ten years under the strictest Yogic discipline with some of the ‘greatest of all great Yogis and finally came to the conclusion ... that it is all a hoax and a mirage.

From your account of her, she was not qualified to benefit by contact with anyone, even if that one had the spiritual greatness of Lord Buddha himself. The one thing needed for spiritual progress is perseverance. She was over-loading herself with the writings of many, each of whom pointed a different path. One who wants to sink a well must go on digging in one place till one strikes water. If he digs pits in a hundred places, each not more than 5 feet deep, he will not have dug a well. That was her case. What value can be attached to her opinions?

Why is so much sanctity attached to a pilgrimage, and not to a mere sight-seeing trip or an official tour?

It is because the very idea of ‘going on a pilgrimage’ prepares your mind to be in a highly receptive mood, in a highly prayerful mood. It shuts out the worldly grooves in the mind. You leave the cloak of your official life in your office. You abandon the cumbersome apparel of social life when you leave your town or city. Even if you travel with your family, you gradually begin to look upon the family members as co-pilgrims and not so much as personal relations. If you are alone, perhaps you live completely in a spiritual world of your own, with little or no family cares, worries and anxieties. This is the mental condition that is most conducive to the greatest reception of the spiritual vibrations that surround you on all sides in holy regions like Uttarakhand. The pilgrim who goes as a pilgrim is conscious that he is engaged upon a sacred mission of gathering spiritual impressions and will therefore gain the greatest blessings by a pilgrimage. He will be a thoroughly changed man when he returns from the yatra.

How are people benefited by a pilgrimage?

This question has to be answered by each pilgrim for himself. The spiritual benefit always depends entirely upon the heart’s faith. Faith is the life-breath of the spirit in man. No spiritual endeavour can be fruitful without it. With it, no spiritual achievement is impossible. If a pilgrim heartily believed, was convinced, and was certain-at-heart that all his sins would be washed away, that he would attain moksha and get beyond the wheel of samsara, there is absolutely no reason why it should not actually prove to be so. A pilgrimage like Badri-yatra can wash off all your sins and enable you to take great strides towards the Great Goal: Self- realization, if you have firm faith in its glory. But, remember, the test of this faith is what you are after you return from the pilgrimage; if, after the pilgrimage, you prove that you have been thoroughly purged of all your sins, that all the evil samskaras have been washed away by the holy waters of the rivers you have bathed in, and that you have been filled with the spiritual vibrations of the sublime atmosphere you have sojourned in, and if you live a pure life of righteousness, devotion, truth, love and purity, you have certainly been liberated. The pilgrimage has served its supreme purpose.

Some pilgrims do rise to such spiritual heights, though their number may be small, and though they may not advertise their achievements.

I read your article in ‘My Magazine’: “Fly from the company of worldly- minded persons. Those who talk of worldly affairs will pollute you. Your mind will waver. Run, run, run quickly to solitary places like Rishikesh. You will be safe in the spiritual path”. May I come to you and lead the life of a sannyasin?

Do not be hasty. Think well. Look before you leap. Mere emotion will not do in the spiritual line. The above instructions are for those who were already doing some kind of sadhana. They will have to go in for seclusion for advanced practices. It will be better for beginners like you to perform Nishkama Karma Yoga for three years in the world by disinterestedly serving the sick and the aged persons.

Suppose you remain with me as a sannyasin, have you got the real strength of heart to face your mother when she weeps bitterly before you with a broken heart? Will you stick to this line if your father comes and threatens you? Will you be unaffected in your mind if a young lady tempts you? Will you be steady if you are affected by a disease? Are you prepared to sacrifice this body and life in the cause of Truth? Have you understood the glory and importance of sannyasa and seclusion? Have you got an idea of the difficulties that sannyasins have to face? Are you prepared to go from door to door and live on bhiksha? How will you spend the whole day and night when you live in seclusion? Just decide all these points before you come to me. If you are sure that you are fit for sannyasa, you can come here. I will serve you and help you well. I will take care of your spiritual welfare. I will make you a king of kings. There is nothing so pleasant as the life of renunciation. It is best suited for quick Self-realization. Glory to all sannyasins!