Way of The Seekers — Page 111
111 THE This means that he made certain resolves but failed to carry them out. He resolved again, and again he failed. But he persisted and refused to be discouraged and did not yield to frustration, until he found God. If he had stopped short after the first failure he would not have met God. 9. One should examine one’s ego repeatedly like a physician who checks up on his patient over and over again. 10 One should aim high and not be content with anything less. He who aims at the highest achieves something worthwhile, and becomes the master of his ego. 11 Besides all this is recourse to prayer. When one’s own effort fails, one needs external help. The first stage is one’s own effort which is internal help. The external help one should invoke is divine help. One should make one’s own effort and also pray to God for help. One should supplicate that one is trying to do whatever one can; but one can succeed only if God helps one. This may be illustrated by a story. A saint had a disciple who was devoted to mysticism which he had studied for a long time under the guidance of the saint. The saint enquired from him whether Satan was found in his part of the country. The query surprised the disciple who countered with: Is there any place which Satan does not frequent? The saint asked: What will you do if Satan should attack you when you return home? The disciple answered: I shall fight Satan. The saint said: Granted that you will fight Satan and make him flee. But what will you do if he returns and renews his attack when you try to turn to God? The disciple submitted that he would again fight. The saint said: If you keep fighting Satan all the time, when will you be able to turn to God? The disciple was non-plussed and requested the saint to guide him on the point. The saint said: If you go to visit a friend and his dog worries you what would you do? The disciple submitted that he would beat the dog with a stick and scare it away. The saint asked what would he do if the dog were to return and worry him again. The disciple answered that he would call the dog’s master and request