Secrecy is Necessary in the Spiritual Path
It is extremely difficult to escape from the clutches of desire, as it is the very cause of birth. Overcoming desire calls for complete effacement of the consciousness of being a separate entity, utter annihilation of the ego. Desire and its consequences can be conquered only by being constantly in the company of God, for He is the very antithesis of desire. Prapancha in itself is neither good nor bad. Paramartha consists in withdrawing all desire from prapancha, all attachment for it. Prapancha needs publicity or show of one kind or another; a woman, for instance, would think nothing of ornaments or fine clothes if prevented from showing them off. On the other hand, it is best to preserve paramartha unnoticed by others, for it is very prone to be affected by the evil eye, not only of some other person, but even of oneself. This can be achieved by taking care to see that it is unnoticed by others, and in the conviction that the sadhana is being performed by the grace of God or the guru. One should outwardly appear to be a common, worldly person; inwardly, however, one should devote oneself completely to God; it is really an art to play this double role.
A sick man has only to lie in bed patiently, and to accept passively, coop era tingly, the nursing tendered by others. The medication, however, must be taken by the patient himself. Even a prince will not get cured by relegating this task to a proxy. So, too, in the spiritual quest, one must oneself remember to have a constant awareness of God.
Do not follow an untried, unknown person, an impostor, a charlatan. First understand clearly and correctly what paramartha is, and then follow the path diligently. Beware of being misguided, for to be misled is as much disastrous as misleading others. Remember that prapancha carried out in constant awareness of God becomes paramartha. Conversely, even paramartha pursued with self-conceit is as harmful as mere prapancha.
Every day we read and hear of outrages, crimes, immoral behaviour, and discontentment in the world. All these can be traced to the spurt in greed for money and power. Generally, to those with whom God is pleased, He gives just about enough for livelihood, while He tests others by giving much more money than their needs call for.
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