SEE THE GREAT REALITY EVEN IN OBSTACLES

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

40. SEE THE GREAT REALITY EVEN IN OBSTACLES
Worshipful homage unto Thee, Thou eternal, all-pervading and indwelling cosmic Spirit
Divine! May Your grace be upon all those sincere seeking souls who are assembled here in Your
divine presence! Grant them the blessedness of an unceasing aspiration, and a determined
resolution to fulfil this aspiration, no matter what the obstacles, what the difficulties, what the
adverse circumstances.
Grant them the insight, the vision and the wisdom to see in these obstacles necessary
disciplines that are meant to strengthen their inner sinews, necessary disciplines that are meant to
awaken in them their hidden powers which may then be manifested and exercised for this great
attainment.
May they not see adverse circumstances as adverse circumstances or obstacles as obstacles.
Grant them the vision and the wisdom to see them as opportunities, to see You present as obstacles,
not thinking them to be the manifestation of something opposed to You, contrary to You, a second
factor, a cosmic dichotomy. For we are within the tradition of the great sages and seers of the Vedas

and the Upanishads. We believe in a supreme, transcendental, absolute, non-dual Reality, which
does not admit of any eternal cosmic dichotomy between the Divine and the undivine, the plus and
the minus.
For us sarvam khalvidam brahma; ekameva’dvitiyam brahma; brahmaiva satyam; ekam
sat—All this is Brahman; Brahman is one alone, without a second; Brahman alone is Truth; Truth is
one. Therefore, grant them, by Your grace the wisdom to perceive the one great Reality even in the
form of seeming obstacles.
Difficulties are not difficulties to those who are resolute and determined. The boatman who
has to row across the flowing river only knows that hard rowing is necessary. He does not deem the
rapid flowing of the river to be an obstacle. He just knows that he has to make it to the other shore.
The only awareness in his mind is the need to persist in putting forth ever greater power until the
other shore has been reached.
In this way, may Your grace manifest in them as resolute determination, as a vision and
wisdom with which they face, accept and welcome everything that life is, and see in everything
Your own manifestation, manifesting as an opportunity and an occasion for putting forth greater
effort and as a situation brought in order to serve as a discipline through which to generate greater
strength, to come out stronger.
Thus may Your grace manifest in them in these positive ways as spiritual qualities that will
train them for the total perfection which is their great destiny!
Loving adorations to revered and beloved Holy Master who thus faced in his own spiritual
life all that confronts a yogi or a monastic or a sadhaka upon this rugged path, and who emerged as a
highly disciplined and determined Yogi and Vedantin. He not only emerged stronger, wiser and
even more determined than ever, but greatly ripened and mellowed, with sympathy for seekers for
all times, knowing through his own personal experience what they may have to face, may have to
overcome, and may have to go through.
He used to say that suffering instills mercy and compassion in the human heart. Having
undergone the same experience one is able to know and sympathise with the sufferings of others.
May his benedictions and glance of grace instil in us a sympathy and an understanding of
the problems of sadhakas; and, above all, may it bring before us the necessity to generate from
within ourselves a great perseverance, a powerful determination and a firm resolution. For these are
our friends and assets on this rugged path. It is not only rugged, it is arduous. It is not a short cut, but
a lengthy, continuous journey unto the last.
It therefore requires great patience, great fortitude. One should not think of its length, but as
the wise Chinese philosopher said: “The longest journey is but one step.” Keep on taking this one
step without stopping, without lagging behind, without sitting by the wayside, without wandering
into the bypass of the pursuit of pleasure or satisfaction.


If we keep on taking that one step, no matter how rugged or arduous the path, then one day
we are destined to reach that Goal Supreme. We are made to claim and obtain our birthright, our
divine destiny. This is the truth.
Life is not what it seems. Obstacles may not be obstacles. Pains may not be undesirable.
Seeming difficulties may be your friends. For, if the overall objective of human life, according to
the Divine will, is evolution, progress towards perfection, then everything that comes your way
should have in it the potential for helping you in this process.
People who are nasty, irritating or annoying, people who seemingly work against you, may
be your friends. God might have sent them in order to show you that you are intolerant, impatient,
capable of ill will, spite, retaliation or a spirit of vengefulness.
These are all a host of unspiritual reactions within you which stand in your way. Unless they
are provoked, how can you know that they exist within you? Similarly, certain temptations may
show you that you are capable of breaking your vow of satyam or brahmacharya.
So we must constantly try to see how God is trying to awaken us, in what way He is trying to
help us unfold our higher nature. Then life will be very interesting. It will have something to tell us
every moment. Suddenly, difficulties may assume a new light. Rather than being something to be
annoyed at, or avoided, they may be a challenge, a warning or a helping hand. They may be
something to invoke in us a higher virtue.