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Firstly let us understand that spirituality is not a bed of roses.  When we read about the spiritual experiences of great Saints, we should always keep in mind the amount of struggle they have undergone and the rigorous penance they have performed over years together in order to attain such an exalted state.  These experiences, by no means, come by in a short span of time.

In general, If one decides to undertake a rigorous spiritual sadhana (practice), one has to perform it as instructed by his Guru with an one-pointed mind with patience and perseverance over many years to see even a small progress.  Above all, it requires a strong and equipoised mind. Direct spiritual progress and experiences have been achieved by the strongest of minds. If not, will lead one to a state of mental instability and render him unfit even for worldly life, leave alone spiritual life.

Let us consider the following traits...

1. Often sitting morosely in solitude

2. Nurturing hatred towards life

3. Often having a lingering question of why one was born

4. Having an urge to commit suicide

5. Always worrying about the future

6. Eating too sumptuously or otherwise, starving

7. At one time, speaking audaciously that one would accomplish everything, and at another time, branding oneself as not fit for anything

8. Telling others that he has a premonition of what is going to happen

9. Always talking with self-pity

10. Laughing boisterously without any reason, and at times, being overly silent and dejected

11. Tying together naturally occurring events and incidents and arriving at inferences (usually negative) by reading into them

12. Blaming others for all the shortcomings that one faces

13. Not going to work at all; Abstaining from going to work on the working day just after the week’s holiday; Purposely absenting from work in order to procrastinate that day's tasks to the next day, absenting for a long time and showing the same as a reason to quit work

14. Sleeping during the day and being a night-owl because of sleeping during the day; sleeping on the belly

15. Believing hallucinations as true

16. Imagining and predicting the future incidents

17. Abusing others, physically or verbally; or abusing oneself

18. Behaving normally when it comes to entertainment or enjoyment

19. Being very intelligent or artistic, to the point where it becomes unrealistic

20. Being aggressively passionate about a task or a particular thing of liking

21. Targeting one individual and finding faults with him, or being overly possessive

22. Being foolishly adamant without any reason

23. Spending money lavishly without planning for the future

24. Expecting that others should respect him and expecting recognition.

25. Doing away with anyone who finds fault with him

26. Often being careless at work and quitting work

27. Lamenting that no one understands him

28. Always engaging in talking to someone or the other either in person or through phone

29. Often leaving home

30. Undertaking resolutions from the next day or the forthcoming occasion to behave in a particular manner or follow a particular routine that is not practical and then, pushing it to a later date or forsaking it in a couple of days, or taking that resolution yet again

31. Experiencing an inflammation in the nerves around the brain when emotionally charged

32. Imagining oneself as an incarnation of a God / special creation and assuming others also to be so

33. Trying to attain everything through easy short-cuts

34. Trying to imitate others

35. Bullying the weak and fearing the strong

36. Having a strong feeling of vengeance against others without any particular reason

37. Reading the histories of great saints and drawing a parallel between their experiences and one's own life’s incidents

 

If you find someone possessing a few or all of these traits, then his/her mental disposition is generally not suited for rigorous spiritual Sadhanas that involve heavy tasking of the mind. Such a person should be advised to stay away from undertaking such Sadhanas and seek professional psychiatric help.

He might perceive a superficial similarity in incidents of his life while reading spiritual books about experiences of great saints. Whereas, in reality, such correlations will only weaken his already fragile mind.  So it is best for him to avoid reading such texts.

A light religious life with simple and light spiritual practices with a positive outlook in day-to-day life is advised for such individuals if they wish to lead a happy life.

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