No matter how comfortable our surroundings and circumstances are when traveling, we still long to get back to our own homes. The reason is that the comfort and happiness offered by it are unique, and we feel at peace when we return home. Similarly, human beings are not truly happy even though they are very comfortable physically, because they have wandered away from their “real home”, their primary source, the Almighty. No matter how much they try to find it in material objects, the total happiness and complete peace they seek will only be bestowed upon them when they return to their primary source, where they will experience the presence of the almighty.

Three types of deficiencies generally trouble humans. These are the ones related to the body, the mind, and the soul. Most people understand the first two, and make every effort throughout their life to alleviate themselves from deficiencies of their body and mind.

However, very few understand the deficiency pertaining to the requirements of the soul, which keeps them unhappy even in the presence of all possible physical comforts. This deficiency is caused by their separation from their primary source, God. They will experience complete and absolute peace only when they reunite with the Almighty.

Just like airplanes and cars bring us back home when we are away, spiritual practices bring us back to our primary source, from which we have drifted away.

Like we have been given ears to hear various sounds, we have also been given a mind that can communicate with our soul. This communication of our soul with our mind is what will lead us home to our primary source. However, the communication of the mind and the soul does not occur readily in humans in their normal state of existence. We have to elevate ourselves and purify our minds to start hearing what our soul is telling us.

Spiritual practices help us develop that purity and transparency needed for the mind to start communicating with our soul, to get us ”home”, to attain lasting peace.

We are told that every living being has a soul within him. At the same time, we are often told that the soul which exists in everyone is completely pure and transparent, is beyond the emotions of happiness and sorrow, and is unaffected by the fear of physical ailments or even death. All of this is true. Although, it may not felt or experienced by humans in their regular state of existence. Let us try to understand the reason we are unable to experience the joy and happiness of our soul, even though it exists within us.

Consider a raindrop falling from the sky. When it forms, it is completely pure and transparent. As it travels through the atmosphere, it picks up various suspended impurities and progressively becomes less pure. When it lands on the earth, it mixes with the sand and may start looking muddy, but still, hidden in that muddied drop of water is the same pure transparent water that commenced its journey from the clouds. If we run this muddied drop through appropriate cleansing mechanisms, we will get back our original pure water drop.

The story of our soul is quite similar. Its presence, transparency, purity, and its joy are hidden somewhere within us, much like the pure drop of water hidden in the muddy drop. If we can find a mechanism that removes all the impurities and cuts through all that envelopes our soul, we will start seeing and experiencing it in all its glory. Spiritual practices are nothing but a mechanism to remove all the impurities and wrappings that have trapped our soul. When this happens, we can start experiencing the amazing joy and peace continually emanating from it.

If you are standing on a riverbank and want to get to the other side, you can swim across, take a boat, or use a bridge. Even though these methods are different from each other, they all can get us across. Similarly, spiritual methods and practices may differ from each other, but all lead us to the same state of permanent peace and happiness. The boat or the bridge will get everybody across irrespective of their religion, culture, etc. Spiritual practices will also deliver everyone to the same state of bliss, regardless of their religion or any other physical differences that they may have.

When embarking on a journey towards spiritual upliftment and selecting a spiritual practice that would help achieve that goal, the first and most crucial step one needs to take is to find an enlightened and knowledgeable person who can point them in the right direction. No restriction would force a person of a particular religion from seeking guidance only from someone belonging to the same religion. One can seek help from a person belonging to any religion. The only thing important here is that the person who we seek help from should be truly knowledgable and in a position to guide us through, right to the end. He should be someone who has already successfully negotiated the path before. He should know where and how to find what we are seeking because it is only then that he will be able to help us achieve our goal successfully.

In my Guru, I found such a person, a distinguished saint, wholly immersed in God, Dr. Chaturbhuj Sahay Ji. Initially, I had only heard about him, but when I met him, understood his system, and practiced it, I benefitted from it immensely. He did not ask me to leave my family, did not ask me to leave my profession, and neither did he ask me to perform physically arduous rituals or rigorous meditation. He did not ask me to quit good food, or good clothes, or anything. In the form of this spiritual practice, he showed me a method whereby while leading an everyday life, all my deficiencies disappeared. This amazing practice completely transformed my life. It filled me with amazing happiness, knowledge, peace, and joy. My heart desires that I spread his message to all of you.

This life is very precious. You cannot buy even one additional breath even if you are willing to spend a fortune. That is why you should recognize your life’s value and try to accomplish this all-important task as quickly as possible; otherwise, you may find yourself repenting when it is too late.

One will not be able to accomplish this task by reading books or listening to discourses. One will have to take guidance and help from someone who can help us reach this state of ultimate knowledge and peace. The spiritual practice propagated by our Guru Maharaj can get you to that destination. I hope you will take advantage of it and realize the real purpose of your life.

Written by Pandit Mihilal Ji in Sadhana Tatva (The Elements of Spiritual Practice). Translated by Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj and Dr. Anita Bhardwaj.