On the Ups and Downs

One disciple was very sad because of the fact that recently he wasn’t advancing in meditations. He himself could not understand why it was happening. Some of the other students advised him to turn to the Master for help and advice.

The Master invited all those who wished to listen to join their conversation.

He said:

“Why are you so upset? Tell us — and then we’ll try to see the reasons for your difficulties. And this conversation will be useful for others as well.”

“Lately, I haven’t been able to any of things that used to be very easy for me to do! Until recently, all the meditations were so wonderful! But now, everything that I do is so weak and bad… Have I really lost the ability to feel God forever? And even in my body, there are now signs of diseases! But we had been cleaning the energies of our bodies for so many years! How can this be? Why is this happening to me?”

… The Master looked affectionately at the disciple and replied:

“Yes, this often happens in our lives… And, it is even a fact of life: that successes and failures alternate…

“To begin with, I will tell you a story:

“One day, a wrestler, whose nickname was Invincible, turned to me for help. For many years, he performed in a lot of competitions, and no one could defeat him. But, one day, at a very significant tournament, he was defeated by a young contender. And, to make matters worse, his body had received some injuries, and so he could not immediately prove to everyone in the upcoming battle that he was the best…

“He was in complete despair because he considered the situation to be a terrible shame for himself… In the past, everyone glorified and admired him! But now, suddenly, everyone turned away from him and began to extol the new champion…

“And so, he came to me for advice, because he did not know how to survive this event and how to live on.

“Let us consider why this had happened to him.

“When a person feels oneself to be the best and is surrounded by the enthusiasm and applause of the public — then it becomes very easy for such a person to be prone to self-admiration!

“Even if worldly glory and success are really deserved, it happens that such people lose the understanding that behind all phenomena in the world of matter is the Supreme Divine Power.

“But most people, who live in the ordinary worldly life, do not even think that all these honors and glories can easily be replaced by oblivion, or the ‘disgrace of failures’, which painfully breaks the inflated self-esteem…

“Very often, it is precisely for this reason that failures happen in people’s fates: so that love, kindness, humility, the strength for overcoming difficulties, and the wisdom for understanding our mistakes can increase in souls.

“Failures and all the hardships of life, which are called by people as troubles, can be used to help souls…

“The wrestler, who came to me for advice, managed to understand that the time had now come for him to make some changes and to turn the soul’s gaze towards spiritual accomplishments, instead of battling in the arena of worldly battles…”

… The disciple asked:

“But all my aspirations and wishes have been directed to God! Why do I have the same fate? I feel like a loser, a worthless and incapable student!… Why is this? How can I overcome all these difficulties?”

“If a person has embarked on the spiritual Path — this does not mean that, from now on, God will save him or her from all difficulties and troubles in life.

“Let’s understand that a disciple on the spiritual Path must learn to treat his or her own achievements and failures — in a different way. It is important to understand that such stages in the lives of spiritual hermits are normal! No one can become perfect at once, at the very moment that one desires this!

“In the life of every spiritual seeker, there are necessary stages when, after the ups and successes, a difficult segment of the Path comes. This is a necessary test of the strength achieved. It is also time for a new accumulation of forces in order to get the momentum needed to make it to new heights.

“We must also be vigilant about our own mistakes, which may become the reasons for our declines. For example, there may have been some negative emotions that were admitted and not noticed, such as: longing, anxiety, resentment, or anger. Or, when one was still at the peak of success, one may have become filled with self-content and self-admiration, started boasting, or had a contemptuous-patronizing attitude towards others.

“You probably think that you already have defeated all this negativity in yourself. But, what has already been cleansed from the soul, is only the most superficial layers of vices.

“Yes, you will never reply with an angry tirade against another person, even if he or she offends you. Yes, you will not panic if you are told that you have lost some material wealth. Yes, you will not brag to your friends about your accomplishments — in order to be praised…

“But there could be a connivance of false emotions for only a very short time or in weakly expressed forms.

“For example, your feelings of sadness because of failures and despair from your own ‘worthlessness’ are precisely the vicious egocentric emotions!

“And egocentric emotional states make it even more complicated to get out of this difficult stage of your life.

“You should pay attention to all this right now, in order to eliminate those things in yourself, which have become noticeable against the background of this decline!

“It must also be understood that when this happens, pathogenic energies can then seize the weakened sites in the body — and then there is a deterioration in health, due to which it is even more difficult to maintain the previous achievements…

“In such cases, you need to pay attention to those areas in the body that are most vulnerable. In this way, God shows us what we have not yet noticed and solved in ourselves.

“The easiest way to heal and restore in such cases is to start from the very beginning of the Path and repeat everything that has already been done.

“If you have committed an ethical error, then you need to repent and cleanse the energies in the body and in the ‘cocoon’, using all the methods that you know.

“And, by again and again returning ourselves — as souls — to a state of peace and love, we learn to live in unity with God, and strengthen ourselves in this state!

“Remember that, after taking one mountain pass, you, the traveler, may need to go down — and then again climb up another pass. And the path there may be even steeper and more difficult.

“And also, it is sometimes necessary to stop for a while, in order to gain strength to overcome the new height.”

[To be continued…]