Most Rational answer by a person (who writes as Mr Aghor Bhadra on Quora) , who is the reason I got introduced to devotion for My Deity for the first time.

{ **Raw Spirituality -> Truth minus Noises ; based on personal experiences over the years while being on Spiritual Journey at Enlightenment & You** }

Dear concerned,

The only obstacle you’ll face in your spiritual journey is yourself. It’s only ‘you’ who is standing between the God and yourself.

Understand that every one of us loves to live in his/her comfort zone. This comfort zone is not just physical. Physical comfort zone is minuscule as compared to the mental comfort zone. The moment you’ll try to come out of your physical as well as mental comfort zone, your mind will resist.

For example if you are not a morning person and you are given a spiritual practice which requires you to get up at four in the morning, it’ll be very difficult for you to adhere to the change. ‘Your’ laziness will become your obstacle.

Suppose you are given a process which you are supposed to practice daily. During initial days you’ll practice that with a lot of enthusiasm. But with time it’ll become a burden, just a daily chore which needs to be done. And soon enough you’ll get bored with it and most likely you’ll stop practicing it. This is what happens in most of the cases. This happens because to master the simplest process it takes years and years. Nothing happens for years and mind starts questioning the process and the person who gave you the process. Patience gives up rather early.

Understand that this entire spiritual journey is all about controlling our mind and actions. Before starting your journey your actions and thoughts have been in free fall. Your actions and thoughts are like untamed horses. Thinking and doing whatever gives you pleasure. Now when one fine day you’ll start taming your mind and put a leash over your actions, your mind will rebel.

You’ll soon find out that pleasures are all gone and what is left is a daily war of thoughts in your mind which you’ll keep on fighting everyday. Unless one is extremely patient and extraordinarily determined this war can not be won.

You’ll face these issues once you have embarked upon your spiritual journey. But before starting this journey, you’ll face issues with your mental comfort zone.

We all are victims of our society’s conditioning. You may think that you think independently and freely but trust me this is not the case. We all create our own cocoons and we love to dwell in its safe boundaries. This cocoon is made of our inflated egos and selective world view. Everyone wants things to happen within the walls of his/her cocoon. People create imageries of the God, Guru, spirituality which fit well inside the walls of their cocoons. Anything going beyond is just not acceptable to them.

What people don’t realise is that they have been scammed by their society. This world is made of lies and truth lies way beyond our perceived reality.

In order to start one’s spiritual journey one must first get out of this mental conditioning. Without it you can never learn a thing. Only A Guru can show you the way but He can only show you the way if you go to Him with an empty mind. Emptying one’s mind completely is the first requisite of this journey.

Regards

Aghor Bhadra

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