The devotee Vimal Kumar Khera had once again drawn Brahm Bodhi’s attention to an old post of his. “Hari Sharanam, Khera Ji,” he began. Khera Ji’s original question, he noted, was not actually contained in that post — yet, on revisiting it, Brahm Bodhi found in it something even more important.
He recalled having promised that he would soon introduce everyone to certain practical applications of “Spiritual Technology” and “Psychological Engineering” — methods that could enable a seeker to progress far more rapidly on the spiritual path.
On looking at the post again, however, he realized that one or two exercises would not be enough. What was needed was an entire series of carefully structured practices. He also felt that there was no reason to confine this work to one group alone: there are serious seekers of spirituality all over the world, and in time this system should be made available to them as well.
A new gateway: “Sadhana-Pravesh”
He therefore announced a decision — to open a new gateway called “Sadhana-Pravesh” (Entry into Spiritual Practice) on the Bhagavad Dharma website, www.gitadharma.org. He had requested the associates in the United States who maintain the websites as a voluntary service to restructure the Bhagavad Dharma website accordingly.
Sadhana-Pravesh, he explained, would not merely introduce people to Psychological Engineering and Spiritual Technology. It would contain structured modules through which these methods could actually be practised, step by step.
Why the journey toward Moksha takes so long
The scriptures and the spiritual masters tell us that the journey toward Moksha may take hundreds — sometimes even thousands — of lifetimes. Perhaps it does, Brahm Bodhi acknowledged. But one reason, he suggested, may be this: ordinarily a Guru gives a mantra without first preparing the soil of the mind, and thereafter the seeker is largely left to travel the path on his own.
In actual life, he observed, we find that merely receiving a mantra often produces no major perceptible spiritual transformation or profound spiritual experience, even after twenty or thirty years. This, he said, was a conclusion he had reached after intimate conversations with many spiritual practitioners.
The analogy of the soil
He illustrated the point with an analogy. What is the first requirement for a good crop? Properly prepared soil. If the land is full of stones, weeds and pests, even the finest seed will not yield a healthy crop. The farmer must first prepare and cultivate the soil, remove the weeds, loosen the earth — and only then sow the seed.
The same principle, he said, applies to spirituality.
“The mind is the soil in which the seed of spirituality is sown.”
If that soil has not been prepared, how can the seed of a mantra manifest its full potential?
The Gita as the source of this technology
A very substantial part of the Bhagavad Gita, Brahm Bodhi noted, teaches us precisely how this inner soil is to be prepared. But these teachings are scattered throughout the Gita, in different places and contexts — for the Gita is a dialogue that took place on a battlefield, not a systematically arranged textbook.
It is this very process, he said, that he wishes to organize and accelerate through the practical application of Psychological Engineering and Spiritual Technology. The clearest and most profound indications of this technology, in his understanding, are found in the Bhagavad Gita itself.
How Sadhana-Pravesh will work
In Sadhana-Pravesh, therefore, the first task will be to prepare this inner soil. As the soil of the mind becomes ready, the seed of the mantra can germinate, and the real crop of spirituality can begin to grow far more rapidly.
The programme will require a minimum period of six months, and serious spiritual seekers and practitioners from anywhere in the world will be able to join it.
On mantra-initiation, and Khera Ji’s original question
Many people approach Brahm Bodhi requesting mantra-initiation. He generally does not give initiation, he explained, until he feels that the seeker’s inner ground has been sufficiently prepared to receive it. “So please wait a little while,” he counselled.
As for Khera Ji’s original question — that too, he now recalled, was very important. He would answer it separately.