Forget Progress to Make Progress

Maharaj Charan Singh describes our predicament when we try to measure our progress on the Sant Mat path:

Sister, we can only measure when we know how much we have yet to cover and how much we have already covered – only then can we know. If you know your destination is 100 miles away, and you have been able to cover one mile, only then can you measure. When you don’t know how far your destination is, how can you measure your spiritual progress? How can you know how much of a dent you have been able to make in that big heap of karma? We can never know. But by meditation we definitely know how much our attitude has changed towards the whole creation, our environment, our relations.

Through meditation our own attitude changes towards everybody, and we feel that bliss and happiness within ourselves. That is the measurement we can make, by which we feel that we are progressing in meditation. But how much we have covered and how much we have yet to clear, it’s impossible to say. But definitely meditation helps us to get that peace, bliss and contentment from within. We don’t get so easily upset. We take life easier and accept God’s will as life comes. So our life changes in that way – that advantage you can feel, but you can’t say how much you have already covered and how much is left. That is impossible to know.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

In this statement, Maharaj Charan Singh is being very frank. He is realistic when he says it is truly impossible to measure our progress. There are so many factors in the progress equation that are unknown to us, so there is really no way to figure it out. This calculation is beyond what our minds can process. Thus, efforts in this direction are simply pointless and can derail our enthusiasm, causing us to become frustrated and discouraged. Therefore, the Masters tell us that it would be in our best interest to forget thinking about progress altogether.

If we want to see some measure of improvement in our spiritual lives, he advises us to simply look at ourselves. How much have our attitudes and habits changed? How much love do we have in our hearts for our Master and fellow men? How content have we become with what the Lord has given us? These changes that we see in ourselves are the measure we can use to see how following a spiritual path has benefitted us.

Most of all, we should focus on our spiritual commitments, especially meditation. There is no Sant Mat path if there is no meditation. If there is no meditation, there is no progress. So we have to concentrate on our continued effort because this is the most difficult thing to do.

When the Master initiates us, puts us on the path, naturally he wants us to make progress. If he didn’t want us to make progress, he would not have put us on the path at all. When the disciple is able to withdraw his consciousness to the eye centre and become attached to that Spirit within, the disciple is happy and the Master becomes happy, because it is the duty of the Master to take that allotted soul back to the Father. So when the soul is progressing within on its way to the Father, naturally the Master is happy. The Master always wants that disciple to try to follow the path. When the disciple is putting in effort, the Master will not withhold his grace. The Lord is always there to help us.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Therefore, we must try putting in the effort to meditate. The mere fact we are on the path means that we have the capacity to meditate and the ability to progress. But our efforts must be there, for only with sustained effort can we tap into his grace.

All of us know only too well that we need his immense grace to keep our meditation going. There are so many challenges a disciple faces in worldly life. Even for someone who has been on the path for many years, there will be times when meditation is difficult and dry. But if we continue to try despite the challenges, his grace will always be there to support us.

Well, brother, when the Lord wants you to put in effort, you will automatically put in effort. You don’t have any excuses to give at all. He will give you the environment, facilities, opportunity, the pull, the yearning within. You can’t help but put in effort then. It’s not that you are getting up at 3 o’clock in the morning – there’s someone that’s awakening you. You will not get rest the whole day unless you attend to your meditation – there is someone who is creating that unrest in you, who is pulling you towards him. We are pursued, actually. But we should try to do our best. We shouldn’t try to find any excuses. But when he pulls our soul, he will just pull it.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

To experience true progress, we should forget about monitoring our progress. Instead we should focus on sustaining our efforts at meditation, because only when we put in effort, will we witness the Master’s grace.

Any minute you spend in love and devotion for the Father is to your credit. It’s a stepping-stone. You are making some progress – maybe at an ant’s speed, but you are making progress. Any little bit of love and devotion for the Father is to your credit.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

As true spiritual disciples on the Sant Mat path, our focus should not be on progress but on diligent and sincere devotion towards our spiritual duties. When this happens, our love for the Master blossoms, and so does his abundant grace. Inevitably, progress just comes naturally.