No amount of Prayers and Spiritual Practice is Going to Help

 

"...we have to purify our minds FIRST... the mistake that we all make is, we think that because we have been in spiritual path for many years --- 10, 15, 20, 30 years --- we are safe. But.. in our heart of hearts, we recognise that we are stuck, and that we are not progressing. 

"Our minds are still so gross although we have been on the path for many, many years. There is so much ego in us, so many desires, so many selfish tendencies, so much RESTLESSNESS, so much grossness....

"When we experience frustration with our sadhana, an indication that we may have gone off course away from the basic instructions... We need purification... more japa..." (pgs. 138 - 139, A Steady Light: Swami Gurudevananda). Note 1: The author is a disciple of Swami Sivananda.  Note 2: The excerpt has been edited for clarity.