Part I
ENTERING INTO THE REALITIES
OF INNER LIFE

THOUGH God-realisation is the ultimate destiny of all persons, there are very few who have the necessary preparation for the early fulfillment of that glorious destiny. Value and limitations of external conformity The mind of the worldly minded is darkened by a thick layer of accumulated sanskaras which must be considerably weakened for the aspirant even to enter the Path. The usual method for gradually dissipating the load of sanskaras is to follow as strictly as possible the external code of religious rituals and ceremonies. This stage of external conformity to religious injunctions or traditions is known as the pursuit of Shariat or Karma-Kanda. It covers actions like the offering of daily prayers, visiting of holy places, performance of duties prescribed by scriptures and observance of well established rules of the ethical codes generally accepted by the moral consciousness of the times. The stage of external conformity is useful in its own way as a spiritual discipline; but it is by no means free from evil effects, for it not only tends to make a man dry, rigid and mechanical, but it often nourishes some kind of subtle egotism. How-
ever, most persons are attached to the life of external conformity because they find it the easiest way of placating their uneasy consciences.
The soul often spends several lives in gathering the lessons of external conformity; but there always comes a time when it tires of external conformity and becomes more interested in the realities of the inner life. Passing on to realities of inner life When the worldly man takes to this higher kind of search he might be said to have become an aspirant. Like the insect which passes on through metamorphosis to the next stage of existence, the soul transcends the phase of external conformity (i.e., Shariat or Karma-Kanda) and enters upon the path of spiritual emancipation (i.e., Tarikat or Moksha-Marga). In this higher phase the soul is no longer satisfied by external conformity with certain rules, but wants to acquire those qualifications which would make its inner life spiritually beautiful.
From the point of view of the realities of inner life, the life of external conformity may often be spiritually barren, and a life which deviates from such rigid conformity may often be spiritually rich. Limitations of conventions In seeking conformity with established conventions and formality a man is almost always prone to slip into a life of false or illusory values rather than a life which is based upon true and lasting values. What is conventionally recognised need not always be spiritually sound. On the contrary, many conventions express and embody illusory values since they have come into existence as a result of the working of average minds which are spiritually ignorant. Illusory values are mostly conventional because they grow into that matrix of mentality which is most common. This does not mean that conventions necessarily embody nothing but illusory values.