Why this Trouble
Building of Ashrams and making disciples bring about the downfall of aspirants. Then, are all stumbling blocks in the path of God-Realization. The aspirant becomes another sort of householder. He develops institutional egoism. He gets attached to his Ashram and disciples. He has now the same cares, worries and anxieties for running the Ashram and the monthly magazine and feeding his disciples. He develops slave-mentality. Thoughts of Ashram revolve in his mind, when he is in a dying condition.
Some Ashrams are nicely managed by the spiritual heads of the respective institutions while they are alive. When they pass away, the disciples who are petty-minded fight amongst themselves in open courts. You can see so many cases going on. The Ashram becomes a fighting centre. Ashram owners have to flatter the donors and appeal for funds very often. How can thought of God remain in his mind, when one has his mind fixed on accumulation of wealth and development of his Ashram? Those who have started Ashrams already may now say: "We are doing good to the people in various ways. We are having religious classes daily. We feed poor people. We are training religious students."
It is quite true that an Ashram run by a selfless dynamic Yogi or a realized soul or a Jivanmukta is a dynamic centre of spirituality. It is spiritual uplift of so many thousands of people. Such centres are needed in all parts of the world. Such Ashrams can do immense spiritual good to the country. But such ideal Ashrams with ideal spiritual heads to run them are very, very rare nowadays. Money is collected in a variety of ways. Some portion is spent for useful purposes. The rest goes to the comforts and conveniences of the founders of the Ashram and their beloved disciples.
The founders of the Ashram in course of time become unconsciously slave of worship and Puja. Maya works in a variety of ways. They are quite eager that people should drink their Charanamrita. How can a man who has the Bhav that he should be worshipped as an Avatara serve the public? Workers are petty-minded. They fight amongst themselves even for trifling things and disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the Ashram. Where then is peace in the Ashram? How can outsiders who visit the Ashram to get Santi, enjoy Santi there?
The founders of the Ashram should live on daily Bhiksha from outside. They should lead an ideal life of absolute self-sacrifice, a life of ideal simplicity like the late Baba Kalikambliwala of Rishikesh, who carried water-pot on his head for the Ashram and himself lived on Bhiksha from outside. Such people alone can do real good to the people. Founders of Ashrams should never appeal for funds. It brings great discredit to the order of Sannyasa itself. It is another way of respectable begging. The habit of begging destroys the subtle, sensitive nature of the intellect and those who appeal for funds frequently do not know what they are doing.
It is very difficult to get good workers for the Ashram. Then why do you bother about building Ashrams when you have neither money nor workers nor dynamic spiritual force? Keep quiet. Do meditation and evolve yourself quietly. Mind your own business. Reform yourself first. How can you help others when you are yourself groping in darkness, when you are yourself blind? How can a blind man lead a blind man? Both will fall into a deep abyss and break their legs.
Generally an aspirant is very enthusiastic about his Sadhana in the beginning. He is full of zeal. He takes a great deal of interest. He expects to get some good results soon. When he does not get these results within the expected time be gets discouraged. He loses his interest and slackens his efforts. He gives up his Sadhana entirely. He loses faith in the efficacy of Sadhana itself.
