When will I attain my final goal?

Spiritual path is like walking on the edge of a razor. There are many ups and downs. One needs to be sincere and persistent in his practice. Often new spiritual aspirants practice for few years and then become anxious about their progress. They start thinking about time frame. They say - "I practiced this for so many days but still have not gained much. When will I attain my final goal?" They start questioning their path and guru's teachings. However, such anxiety only takes you away from your path rather than proving to be helpful. A story by a famous spiritual personality will nicely highlights this fact. The story goes like this...

Once upon a time two Aghoris went to cremation ground to perform Shava Sadhana. One of them was a junior with little experience of doing such sadhana. They somehow managed to get two corpses and started their practice. After some some one of them started seeing horrible visions. He was so afraid that he thought of running away. His friend restrained him from doing so and he continued still further. A moment came when the visions became so terrifying that he died on the spot! At the same time his friend continued with great courage. A stage came when the corpse started showing signs of life! Finally, the mother Smashana Tara appeared before him and blessed him. He was overjoyed to see his practice yielding such an awesome results. He never thought that he could succeed in such a small time. He bowed down to the goddess and asked - "Mother! Why did my friend died? What happened to him? We both were performing the same practice." The goddess smiled and said - "My child! Before this birth the same happened to you many times."

The moral of the story is that spiritual results take time for most of us. Some of us may get fruits quickly based on their past merits whereas some of us may spend the entire life time but still fruits may not be seen. We should always bear this in mind when we grow anxious about our spiritual progress. Instead of looking for the final fruits of practice one should enjoy the practice itself. This way we will not become too much anxious about the destination. Let it come when there is right time for us. Let's not turn away from our path in disappointment.

For those who don't know who Aghoris are a quick introduction may prove useful. Aghoris belong to Tantrika sect and mainly practice left handed tantra. They are said to have great control over natural elements and phenomenon. One of the practice of the left handed tantra is Shava Sadhana in which the practitioner sits on a corpse (typically in cremation ground). The corpse is laid on the ground and the practitioner sits on the dead body. He then draws certain yantra and performs some mystic worship. If the practice is successful the corpse is said to become alive. It is believed that the goddess herself speaks through the mouth of the corpse and grants him with boons. Many of us may find this very odd or scary, nevertheless Tantra has deep meaning for each of its practices and the practitioner has total belief in them. The point here is not to say if these practices are good or bad but to understand the essence of this story.