There is great difference between the Brahmanishtas (those established in God-contemplation) of the past and the Brahmanishtas of the present day. First it is necessary to grasp the greatness of Brahmanishta itself. It is because this has not been done by the present-day holy men, that poverty has come upon us. In the past, this greatness was realised, and they were immersed in experiencing holiness. The question may arise why such holy feelings do not arise now; but they are not absent. For fire to increase or decrease fuel is the only cause; there is no other reason. The more the fuel, the more the illumination! In all humanity, every individual has the undisputed right to feed his fire with fuel! Fire has the power to give light, by its very nature. So, too, in the fire of the Buddhi of the aspirant and spiritual practitioner, the fire which produces the light of wisdom, the fuel of renunciation, peacefulness, truth, kindness, forbearance and selfless service has to be constantly placed; the more they do this, the more efficacious and effulgent the Sadhakas can become. Only trees growing on fertile soil can yield good fruits. Those which grow on saline soils will be poor. So, also it is only in hearts which are unsullied that such holy feelings, power and gifts can shine in splendour. The difference between the Brahmanishtas of the past and the present is just this: the present-day Brahmanishtas are practising the same Dhyana and the same Pranava as their namesakes in the past, the difference arises in the decline in self-control, so far as the field of Sadhana is concerned. When the number of Mahapurushas who engage themselves in unflinching meditation of God in solitary places declined, then many a suffering descended upon the world. Those who exist today are damaging their Brahmanishta by themselves arranging for the accumulation of all obstacles for the carrying through of their Sadhana, by getting enslaved to mean praise and fame, by becoming entangled in delusion, and by restless endeavour to earn glory and to expand the institutions they have founded. Those who yearn to establish themselves in Brahmanishta must seek solitude, practise Dhyana and Japa at specified times, and acquire one-pointedness through these spiritual exercises, and always be anxious to do deeds that will bring about the welfare of all created beings, ever engaged in performing work without any concern for the fruit thereof. It is only when such men come upon the earth that all suffering will cease. This is the mark of Kritha Yuga.

Just as in the world, kind-hearted doctors run medical institutions here and there, and serve the diseased and cure the afflicted, if, here and there, we have also Ashramas of holy personages, who are experts in the treatment and cure of the 'birth and death disease', then, people can be cured from the afflictions of ignorance, untruth, immorality and self-aggrandizement. Ignorance produces wickedness and it can be cured only by the medicine of Brahmajnana with supplementary doses of the drugs, Santham, Sama, Dama (Peacefulness, Fortitude, Self-control) etc. Instead of this, the 'great men' of today give those who approach them the medicines they demand, and the drugs their patients relish! They thus become the instruments of their followers and, for the sake of name and fame, they behave like doctors dictated to by the patients! The so-called 'great' fall into perdition, even before they taste the Bliss themselves, on account of their weakness and foolishness, becoming a prey to the wiles of the greed for name and fame! The main reason for the contemporary poverty is just this. Present-day Sadhus and 'great' men have not understood this fact and do not act according to it.