Second Stage

Second Stage

Planning and scheming were not in my nature. I depend on the grace of the Lord. I had decided to leave Swargashram. Where was I to go? That was a great problem. For some days, I stayed in a small room at the Rama Ashram Library. A few of my students lived in a small Dharmashala nearby and depended on the Kshetra for their meals. For some days I too went to the Kshetra for my Bhiksha. To save time, I received my Bhiksha through an elderly Sadhu from the Kshetra. Thus months passed.

Then I found a small Kutir in a dilapidated condition nearby. That was improved a bit by fixing doors and windows. I occupied the place and lived there for a period of over 8 years. I could have easily set up some thatched cottages in the jungle. That was not suitable for dynamic work. Books and papers might get damaged by white-ants. I saw a series of rooms in a Dharmashala used by a shopkeeper as a cow-shed. These rooms had no doors. Gradually, one by one, all the rooms were converted into residential quarters for the students.

When devotees gave me some money for my personal use, I utilised it in printing leaflets like “Twenty Important Spiritual Instructions,” “Way to Peace and Bliss,” “Forty Golden Precepts” and other pamphlets, and gave them to visitors. I utilised the money in purchasing some useful medicines for the treatment of sick Mahatmas and for postage to send articles to newspapers and letters to thirsty aspirants. The work grew in a steady pace. I did not go out in search of students.

True seekers of Truth came to me in large numbers seeking my help and guidance. They all received initiation from me and lived in the adjacent rooms of the Dharmashala and worked day and night. To meet the heavy rush of work, I got a duplicator and a typewriter. People evinced great interest in the divine service done for the spiritual uplift of the world. I admired their devotion to me. In work, they forgot their past and plunged themselves in attaining evolution through service and Sadhana. Devotees gave me voluntary contributions for the noble cause. For the maintenance of the students, I received dry rations for five persons from the Kali-kambliwala Kshetra at Rishikesh. For the rest of the students and the visitors I utilised the meagre donation received from a few admirers. That enabled me to publish some books also for sale.

TALENTS FIND THEIR BEST USES

With the arrival of new and able hands, I started various fields of activities suited to their taste and temperament. I found out the talents and hidden faculties in them and encouraged them to a great extent. Then a small kitchen was started to provide food for the hard workers, the visitors and the helpless who could not get Bhiksha from the Kshetra. I maintained various kinds of addresses-of devotees, High Schools, Libraries, donors and aspirants for the Sannyasa line. (Nivritti Marga) and sent my books periodically for dissemination of knowledge. The addresses were well-classified under several headings for easy reference. Here I give the titles of a few address books:

Ashrams, Associations, Advocates, Judges, Graduates, Book-sellers, Publishers, Firms, Doctors, Correspondence students, Divine Life Society Branches, Libraries, Ladies Section, Brahmacharis and Sannyasi students, Magazines and Periodicals, Maharajahs and Zamindars, Students who have received initiation, Monthly Donors, Household Disciples, Officers, Patrons, Professors, Wonderful Misers. Now there are several address books, a separate volume for each country. I myself used to fill in the correct addresses and note the changes very carefully. Even today, I myself enter the important addresses and permit the students to maintain all the address books in perfect order.

Second Stage – Steady Practice, Purification, and Growing Inner Strength

Second Stage is the period in spiritual life where the seeker moves beyond initial interest and begins to practice with more seriousness. In the beginning, inspiration may come suddenly and disappear quickly. The mind may feel excited after reading a book, hearing a talk, or meeting a saintly person. But in this stage, the seeker understands that real progress needs regular effort, patience, and inner discipline.

This phase is very important because it tests sincerity. The first enthusiasm may become weak when old habits return. Desire, anger, laziness, doubt, distraction, pride, and worldly attraction may again trouble the mind. The seeker may feel, “Am I really progressing?” Such struggles are natural. They do not mean failure. They show that deeper purification has begun.

Second Stage teaches the value of regular spiritual routine. Prayer, meditation, mantra repetition, study of noble teachings, selfless service, and self-examination should become part of daily life. Even if the practice is small, it should be steady. A little effort done every day is more powerful than occasional intense practice followed by long neglect.

The seeker must also become more watchful of thoughts and actions. It is not enough to sit for meditation and then live carelessly during the rest of the day. Speech, food, company, work, entertainment, and relationships all influence the mind. Spiritual life must enter ordinary conduct. Speaking kindly, controlling anger, avoiding gossip, and doing duties sincerely are also forms of practice.

Second Stage brings awareness of inner impurities. Earlier, the seeker may have blamed the world for all suffering. Now they begin to see anger, jealousy, fear, greed, ego, attachment, and selfishness within themselves. This discovery may be uncomfortable, but it is a blessing. One cannot remove a weakness that one refuses to see. Honest observation is the beginning of transformation.

Good company becomes especially necessary here. The mind is still not fully strong and can be pulled down by careless influences. Satsang, scriptures, lives of saints, uplifting books, and the company of sincere seekers protect aspiration. They remind the mind again and again of the higher purpose of life.

Second Stage also requires moderation. Extremes may disturb progress. Too much food, too much sleep, too much talking, too much entertainment, and too much social distraction weaken spiritual energy. At the same time, harsh suppression and unrealistic discipline can create tension. The seeker should choose a balanced, simple, and pure lifestyle.

Devotion becomes deeper in this phase. Prayer is no longer only for solving problems. It becomes a way of surrendering the heart to the Divine. The seeker begins to ask not only for success or comfort, but for purity, strength, guidance, patience, and freedom from ego. This change in prayer shows spiritual maturity.

Second Stage also strengthens discrimination. The seeker reflects: What is permanent and what is temporary? What gives lasting peace and what gives only temporary excitement? What leads to freedom and what leads to bondage? Such reflection helps reduce blind attraction toward sense pleasures and worldly praise.

Selfless service is a powerful support. Service done without expectation reduces selfishness and expands the heart. Helping others, performing duties honestly, speaking words of encouragement, sharing knowledge, and relieving suffering all purify the mind. Service turns spiritual life from personal effort into compassionate living.

The seeker should not become discouraged by repeated mistakes. Falling and rising are part of the path. What matters is not that the mind never falls, but that the seeker does not give up. Each mistake should become a lesson. Each failure should produce humility, not despair. Patient effort slowly weakens old tendencies.

Second Stage prepares the aspirant for deeper meditation and self-inquiry. When the mind becomes a little pure and steady, it can observe itself more clearly. The seeker begins to understand that the true self is not the body, mind, ego, or passing emotion. The witnessing awareness remains present through all experiences.

In the end, Second Stage is the stage of steady effort, purification, and growing spiritual strength. It changes initial inspiration into disciplined practice. Through prayer, meditation, self-control, good company, service, discrimination, devotion, and daily self-examination, the seeker becomes more mature and prepared for higher realization.

First Stage