‘Not by the reading of scriptures or much learning can the Self be found’ says the Upanishad. The word of a scripture can inspire and awaken the soul to walk the path towards its own realisations. But the path has still to be walked, in real earnest and in real time. The only thing that helps then when one actually walks the path is not scriptural reading or learning but the Lord’s Grace or the Master’s. All else can fail a man but the Grace never fails us.
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Walking the path of the Spirit is like undertaking a long and difficult pilgrimage. Read as much as you like but the actual journey with its real difficulties and the delight at each step is something that no book can envisage or describe. What helps then is the qualities we have inculcated that are needed on any long and difficult journey. Therefore the wise have always insisted on practicing certain attitudes before we enter the path, such as faith, patience, perseverance and endurance.
