Self Realization is
the culmination of all things spiritual. It is the end of cosmic journey. Self
Realization announces it is time for our soul atman within the body to get liberated
forever from the cycle
of birth and death. Reaching the stage of Self Realization means reaching
the 8.4 millionth manifestation! Self
Realization is an end unto itself. Sri
Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharshi Ramana both gained Self Realization
in their lifetime. In the last about 150 years only two persons have realized
god... they were Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharshi Ramana.
word realization in self realization does not stand for its literal meaning alone.
Realization of the self... the ultimate truth of life dawning upon us that our
inner self is the only truth of life is the crux of life! Cutting across the boundary
of physical manifestations and reaching the cosmic end goal of life is what self
realization truly means. In
day-to-day terminology we find the increasing use of word realization. The poor
wise men fail to realize that self realization is limited to the spiritual pursuits
of life alone. Realization otherwise carries no other meaning. We may gain bookish
knowledge but that does not indicate that we have realized something.
may often find people remarking that your talk on so-and-so has been very enlightening.
Yes, the talk may have been an eye-opener for many but never enlightening. For
enlightenment is not related to the physical manifested world. Gaining enlightenment
is the end of cosmic journey... it is reaching the 8.4 millionth manifestation!
The start of cosmic
life begins with the form of an amoeba, a single cell formation! As the journey
proceeds ahead it further evolves into insect life, then plant life, animal life
and finally the form of a human being. Altogether a journey of 8.4 million manifestations...
a long journey!
Every form of life finally culminates in gaining self realization in the end.
It is this stage when the bodily self realizes the true inner
self and the dross having completely removed... our soul atman within
gets released from the bondage of manifesting again and again. It reaches its
pristine pure form at the end of the journey. The
doctrine of karma facilitates this journey of reincarnation from one life to another
as it is only the karmic residual balance which gets carried forward from one
life to another. The residual balance of karma brought forward decides what the
next destiny of the life form would be.
Whether one would be born an animal or a human being, and even in the human form
whether one shall manifest the life of a cobbler or a King is all depended upon
the residual balance of karma brought forward from the previous lives. For
one to reach the level of self realization... performance of good karma is an
essential must! Every serious seeker of spirituality who desires reaching the
stage of self realization in present life has to burn the bonds of karma for ever.
is the bondage of karma which keeps every Jiva (life form) tied to the earthly
manifestation. The moment one is able to burnout ones karma for ever... our soul
atman reaches back to its original pristine state. After self realization every
soul atman resides in the kingdom of God (as defined in Christianity) and Vaikuntha
in hinduism (abode of god).
To cross over the Samsara (physical earthly manifested life)... one needs to dive
deep into the ocean of wisdom contained in the sacred Bhagavad Gita. The doctrine
of Bhagavad Gita was put forward by Lord
Krishna to King Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurushetra (in the battle
This one sacred document...
the Bhagavad Gita is sufficient for the mankind to gain self realization in the
present life. Bhagavad Gita contains all knowing which one reaches the stage of
Kaivalya Jnana... the stage when there is nothing else in whole cosmos worth knowable.
essential ingredients in the field of spirituality for reaching the stage of self
realization are many. To start with one has to be truthful always and ever in
all circumstances of life. Maintaining truthfulness in the physical manifested
world is the most difficult task in the present Kali Yuga. The practitioners of
pure spirituality normally accomplish this task by leaving the confines of the
These practitioners leave for places of solitude in deep dense jungles (forest
areas) where there is none to disturb them while in pursuit of self realization.
Those who have been
able to reach the stage of self realization living within the precincts of Grihastha
Ashram (family life) are blessed by god. In the Kali Yuga phase of life proceeding
on the path of spirituality while in Grihastha Ashram (family life) is a real
tough task indeed. Not impossible... but really difficult to attain!
Krishna in Bhagavad Gita adores such saints and sages who have reached the stage
of self realization while remaining in the family.
In the present Kali Yuga phase of life it is not recommended that one leave for
the jungles for pursuing spiritual goal of life. Gautama Buddha committed this
mistake in the early stages of his life. He left the confines of the family in
search of spiritual pursuits without having completely burnt his karma. He was
wrong. Gautama Buddha finally realized that unless one has totally burnt out ones
karma... reaching the stage of self realization was not possible.
realization demands that one cut across the bondage of family ties for ever. Not
able to recognize your parents, children and all near and dear ones is truly a
formidable task! Easily said but really demanding of one. As you proceed higher
on the spiritual plane... the whole community becomes one for you. Unable
to distinguish between your parents and the balance, all other children appearing
to be your own... even the ties with your wife becoming a relationship of brother
and sister... you definitely have cut the earthly bond. In the later times of
his life Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa treated his wife Ma sri sarada devi as holy
mother and worshipped her. He was not wrong!
The other essential ingredients to reach the stage of self realization are practicing
Brahmacharya Vrata for a continuous minimum period of 12 years. Only
then the awakening of Kundalini can occur. Practicing celibacy is an essential
must... something one cannot do without! Yoga
meditation is required to be practiced in the Shavasana pose for longer periods
of time. This gives control over breathing as it is traveling the waves of breath
that one reaches the inner domains of soul atman within the body.
we need to realize that it is not the body which requires breathing. It is our
soul atman within the body which breathes. The requirement of oxygen is absolutely
meant for the soul atman residing in our heart. You stop the supply of oxygen
and the soul atman within the body would leave.
The process of Neti (not this, not this) as practiced and advocated by Maharishi
Ramana is the only means of practicing yoga at its best. Lying in the Shavasana
pose and practicing Neti is an essential must if one desires reaching the stage
of self realization. Neti
(not this, not this) is the process which makes us understand that everything
in the cosmos is built up of basic building block of the cosmos... clusters of
atoms and molecules and the black dark matter ether. Beyond these two there is
nothing else in the cosmos worth discussing.
is only when viewed from the senses point of view that things appear to have a
shape and size. In the cosmic system all is gaseous in nature. Distinguishing
between God Almighty and the rest of his creation is what Neti (not this, not
this) is all about! Once
the fact that God Almighty is the only truth of the cosmos dawns upon us... we
understand the crux of Maya (Veil of illusion). Cutting across this Veil of illusion
is what Neti is all about. The moment we transgress beyond the Veil of Maya we
find ourselves face-to-face with God Almighty. This is a stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi...
the most revered stage on the path of self realization.
may or may not proceed toward gaining self realization in the present life but
the end goal of every living being is gaining self realization in the end. Why
wait for the next manifestation... do it now! Your soul atman within your heart
will praise you for doing this.
Kumar "Atma Jnani"
Vijay Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains the concept
of Self Realization. For more on self realisation visit -
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