‘The thing that holds people back and causes them to neglect their spiritual work is that they don’t see objective, tangible results on the physical plane.

And yet this spiritual work is the foundation of everything: of their future, their glory, their power and their happiness. If they do not give it first place in their lives, they will never obtain any of the other things they desire. All initiates are unanimous on this score: the only thing that really counts is a personal effort, a sincere effort, an effort of the will in union with the mind, the soul and the spirit, all bent on the highest goal.

The day will come when you understand
I have talked about this question thousands of times already, but I have to keep coming back to it, for it is often when someone hears something for the thousandth time that they tell me, ‘Master, I have suddenly understood; now I see what you mean!’ You have to keep coming back to the most important truths, to explore them, to repeat them over and over again, to look at every aspect of them until, at last, you feel illuminated, enlightened, dazzled, because you have understood!

From that moment on your future is laid out before you; you may not see it to begin with, but it will become clear to you later. In the meantime, therefore, the important thing is to acquire a taste for spiritual activities, to begin to love them so much that, if ever you were obliged to forgo your inner work of meditation and contemplation, you would feel that you had been deprived of something essential.

Become independent, strong and confident
Make this a habit; cultivate this need, this love of spiritual things. I assure you, my dear brothers and sisters, nothing can be more beneficial to you. You will become independent, strong and confident; you will rise above all difficulties, because you will have discovered that your centre of gravity, your divine centre, the element that is above all external contingencies, dwells permanently within you, and that no one can take it from you.

Yes, the only possession, the only wealth that can never be taken from you are your own efforts, your own spiritual work. Everything else can be taken from you; everything else can fade and be wiped out. The only area in which you have control is your own inner being.

This is why your only possessions and the only things that can give you a sense of true independence and stability are your own efforts. Whatever the circumstances, you can always feel that there is an eternal, immortal, indestructible centre within you.‘

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

From a lecture given at The Bonfin, September 26, 1977

To be continued…

Complete Works Volume 18, Jnana Yoga Vol 2
Chapter 2, Spiritual Work