Question: During practice or perhaps after practice it is difficult sometimes to be objective about whether one is progressing as well as they could. When we are practicing at home, how do we self assess our progress to make sure that we're progressing as well as or as quickly as we can towards this wonderful goal.

Babaji:

One important thing, be assured that every time you sit for meditation even for half an hour or one hour, a certain amount of progress definitely happens. Simply one is unable to notice. Because of the amount of dirt remaining in the mind, you might notice only after a long time when the mind in losing all its agitations, becomes more peaceful. So we need to assure ourself that there is some progress. You need to sit down again, practice again, sit down again, practice again. You should not become negative, whether the progress is happening or not. Sometimes I would advise not to bother about the progress, just keep going. Because you are walking, you have to walk fast. You cannot afford to stop even for a moment. If you stop, you are wasting that moment. If you stop, if you turn back and try to measure how long you have walked, you are wasting all such time. Your progress has been curtailed. Just keep walking and you will be there one day. You will simply have that peace. So automatically, when a test happens, then you will be able to understand how much your mind has progressed. Based on that you will have to do more sadhana. You need not stop and visualize how much progress you have made. If an incident happens and your mind does not get agitated too much, automatically, that is the progress. The mind has learnt not to bother more than is necessary.

Question: Thank you, I think I understand but it's not only about anxiety whether I progressing fast enough. It’s wanting to be as efficient as possible in the sadhana, not to have sleepiness or laziness, not to be deluding myself because I have allowed myself to go off on one of these thoughts that seem to go on forever before they evaporate. I guess this is part of the challenge of being on the path but its not clear sometimes.

Babaji:

That's a good attitude. Every happening in the life can be a teaching for you - a lesson. You find how much purer that your heart is becoming, how much purer that your mental thinkings are. How much you are able to consider about others. How much you are able to forget and forgive these things. How much you are able to be noble. How much you are able not to feel hurt when a thing happens. These are the basic things, if the mind is progressing in meditation. If such a thing does not happen, if you feel hurt too much, you can consider quickly that my meditation is not enough, I must be doing more meditation, in a much effective way. Then remember what the Guru has told during the initiation. He has asked me to keep watching, so that means my watching is not enough.  Let me do that one more effectively. So like that you can always visualize and then go into more progressive practice. So this is possible. The mind needs to become purified. It has to achieve peace and its agitations should all decrease.