EXPECTATIONS

ASPIRANT:  It has been said that for us to see God we must "go within."  If I decide to meditate twice a day, for say three years, what can I expect to happen? Will I get definite results?

SWAMI PRABHAVANANDA: You don't have to wait three years.  Do a half-hour of meditation a day, but true meditation is like the pouring of water from one vessel to another, with the current of your mind flowing toward God.  If you can do that for half an hour, then you will attain samadhi.  But to reach that state it might take three years or three lifetimes, depending upon how much effort you put into it.  Usually our minds run away somewhere else.

We don't work hard enough to stop our mind in its wandering.  It all depends on how much effort we employ.  It's the quality that counts, not the quantity.  If you think of God for even five seconds, those are five blessed moments in your life. 

The other moments are in vain, wasted moments.  So make your life blessed every moment by thinking of the Lord every moment.  We must have purity of heart.  What is the sign of this purity?  It is when the natural tendency of your mind is to flow toward God.  When you attain this state, you will see God.