You need to learn of the meaning of being Enlightened... before thy
seek one who is Enlightened? Further in the essay below which relates
to "How do we recognize a truly god realized person?"
Putting self in the place of a judge without having reached the stage
of self-realization is something like giving your final decisions even
before having come to a conclusion. Not aware of the actual
circumstances... dwelling on your judgmental powers which are governed
by our intellect alone can never be the guide on the path of
spirituality.
Spirituality is primarily governed by our inner self, our Atman (the
soul within). On the contrary every Jiva... all living beings
including all human beings are governed by our intellect (Buddhi as we
call it in Hinduism). Our intellect is a physical property... it is
directly related to the knowledge gained by us as we proceed ahead in
the journey of life. The level of intellect present in every being is
directly related to our willingness to learn more and more of the
system surrounding us. The intellect within every person... the
intelligence is directly related to the maturity one achieves while
proceeding on the journey of life. Einstein had a very developed
intellect as compared to normal human beings. Why?
Our intellect is not the least related to our Atman (the soul within)
residing within our heart. Every human being at any given moment of
time is guided by either our intellect or the voice of our Atman (the
soul within). For a normal human being it is not only difficult but
also rather impossible to distinguish between the two. Only people
having a true strength of character and who are willing to proceed
ahead on the journey of life by using only truthful means can
distinguish between the two.
People who lie every moment of life can never be the true seekers of
God. In the present world above 99.99 percent people spend their life
taking the shelter of lies every now and then. We have to tread the
path of truthfulness alone if we really desire to become a true seeker
of spirituality. In the circumstances how can we expect one to hear
the sweet small inner voice... the voice of our Atman (the soul
within)!
As a true seeker of spirituality one who merely understands the
literary meaning of self realization can never decide upon whether the
other is self realized or not. It is not within his competence to
become a judge of the situation. It is not supposed to be! Had anyone
else other than Ramakrishna Paramhansa or Maharishi Ramana realized
God in their lifetimes... so much fame and literature would have
accompanied this person all over the world that it would not have
remained undisclosed until now.
The moment a flower blooms... its sweet fragrance spreads all over and
everyone comes to know that a flower has bloomed. Similar is the case
with God realized souls... they cannot keep the community away for
long... one day or the other the facts would disclose themselves to
the community in its own way. One really needs to reach the stage of
Nirvikalpa samadhi to be able to realize that the other person across
the street is God realized... never before! It can never be.
Your thinking that you considered so and so saint to be God realized
is only prompted by your intellect and not your Atman (the soul
within). Based on whatever knowledge you have gained until now in your
journey of life... and whatever be your definition of
self-realization... you may have felt that the other is God realized.
In truth, we need to reach the level of a God realized person to be
able to judge the other. God realization truly speaking is the other
word for gaining enlightenment (Kaivalya as we call it in Hinduism and
Jainism).
To lie is something normal human beings can never do without. In the
present materialistic world it has become far more essential to be a
top-notch liar to succeed in life (I know it is an anomaly but the
truth spread far and wide in the society cannot be denied). The more
bigger a liar... the more intelligent one is considered to be in the
present world. One who confidently says, "He does not lie" either is a
saint of the highest order or one who lives in an allusion of his own
making. We need to understand that every human being is imbibed with
impurities. Had it not been so... the manifestation of body by the
Atman (the soul within) would not have been required at all.
Our existence as a human being makes it implicitly clear that we are
far away from the spiritual goal of life. Unless we shed the dross
within... our Atman (the soul within) shall not be able to gain its
pristine pure form. Treating ourselves as one who is impure from
within... we have to rise above the platform of the senses and the
mind. It is not that the senses and the mind are a commodity that can
be taken control of.
It is as if having taken the control of a wild horse... We have to
worry about riding it? If we need to milk a buffalo... we need to own
it. It is not that we can get hold of the milk without owning the
buffalo or paying a price for it. It is just not possible that one
takes absolute control of the senses and the mind and is not able to
reach the stage of Nirvikalpa samadhi. The sooner one is able to
control the senses and the mind... the final goal of the spiritual
life is very near.
In a total of 6000 million people... how many people do you think are
able to establish absolute control over the senses and the mind... it
would not exceed one or two persons at the most. Taking absolute
control of the senses and the mind is not a joke. God has made 1.1
million manifestations (a journey of about 12.1 million earthly years)
for one to be able to cross over the ocean of Samsara as a human being
alone. What was the need for God to create so many manifestations? God
could have reduced the total cosmic journey from 96.4 million years to
about hundred years!
Then the question would arise... why at all the creation of the
Cosmos? Everything should have remained as it is. But, in the cosmic
system... nothing remains stagnant (inactive) for long... for
everything that forms the basis of the Cosmos itself is active energy.
Everything in the whole Cosmos is bubbling with vital energy within.
We may remain totally idle but multitudes of thoughts enter our brain
every moment of life. Why so? The prime reason being that our Atman
(the soul within) is a source of active energy.
We may like to do or not... we have to perform our karma and none in
the whole of Cosmos can escape it. Merely sitting idle does not mean
one has escaped karma. One can escape doing physical work but not the
karma. The flow of thoughts unto our brain is a continuous
process...whether we desire it or not!
The shortcut in the spiritual goal of life is meant for one who can
realize God within his lifetime. It is only one or two persons alone
in the whole of humanity consisting of 6000 million people that one is
able to realize God within a span of hundred years or so. The path of
self realization is not meant for commercially minded people... one
who searches for shortcuts in the journey of life.
We are what we are. We are not supposed to question the domain of God.
Why he created the Cosmos at all... why he left the total humanity to
suffer and that to at the hands of God, the Almighty Creator! Why does
god not take pity on his suffering children? If everything in the
system of God is orderly planned then why create sufferings at all?
Every single cause in the system of God has its explanation... a
logical conclusion! The total system cannot survive even if one single
act was missing. Everything existing in the cosmos is perfect on its
own. It is only our ignorance that we are not able to get to the right
explanation and the reason why that shortcuts are prohibited. As a
student of class two is prohibited to take a shortcut to class
seven... similarly, in the spiritual domain it is not the desire of
God or the seeker that helps but it is the will of the seeker which
ultimately plays the dominant role.
Everyone in the system who comes first in a race knows well before
that he shall come first. Even before having won the medal... the
successful candidate is always prompted from within that he shall be
the winner. We do not have to look elsewhere... there is a mini Cosmos
within us in the form of our Atman (the soul within)... whether we are
competent to gain self realization in this very life or not is already
known to our Atman (the soul within)... we only need to sincerely and
truthfully be able to hear that sweet small inner voice.
You fail to understand the definition of faith. Faith is not something
that is inherited while proceeding on the journey of life. Either one
has it or is devoid of it. Faith always comes from within... faith in
the Almighty God does not generate because of the promptings of our
seniors, household members or our spiritual preachers. It always
exists within every individual being. If someone does not have
absolute faith in the system of God... then one is quite below on the
ladder of spirituality compared to one who has absolute faith in the
system of God. Faith is not a mere expression! Whether one has
absolute faith in the system of God or not reflects in ones working...
the truth always prevails in the end.
No human being can ever develop faith. It is only a few individuals in
the history of mankind who were able to cut the shackles of senses and
the mind and a transformation occurred in such human beings. The sage
Veda Vyasa was one of them... the only person in the history of
Hinduism who was able to interpret and write the commentary on
Bhagavad Gita. The present original form of Bhagavad Gita which is
available with Gita press, Gorakhpur, India... the first document
relating to the famous discourse of Lord Sri Krishna to Pandava King
Arjuna in the battlefield of Mahabharata was surprised by the great
sage Veda Vyasa.
Before becoming the famous Veda Vyasa... this person was a dreaded
criminal... one who used to kill people without a worthwhile cause?
The moment he came across a sage of the level of Gautama Buddha... his
total thinking abruptly changed. He became a sincere seeker of
spirituality from then on. For normal human beings such a change is
normally not possible. It is only in very adverse circumstances that
the whole thinking pattern of a human being gets grinded to a halt.
And from now onwards the total personality of this person changes. One
is a totally reformed person from now onwards.
Faith is not a commodity that can be bought with a price. Our total
karma of the previous lives decides whether in the present life we
faith in the God or not. Nothing can change this order. If I have been
born in a Jain family it is only because of the balance residual karma
of my past lives. The beggar on the street is not a creation of
one-day. He took birth in the house of a beggar only because of the
residual karma of the past lives.
Having been born as a beggar we can definitely look forward to rising
high above on the platform of spiritual life. This is possible but to
be able to revert back to the past lives is just not possible. Whoever
desires to look into the past is a purely commercial person. Such a
one is not meant to proceed on the path of spirituality at all. Such a
one has to take a really long journey before one can be born as one
who has absolute faith in the system of God. It is only then one can
travel the spiritual journey of life comfortably.
Talking to one of my friends... a follower of Punjabi culture (eat,
drink and be merry!)... Who regularly visits Haridwar (the holy city
of Ganga, the Ganges river) on most weekends once narrated the cause
of his so frequent a visit to Haridwar... we commit sins for the six
days while performing our business and on the seventh day we visit
Haridwar and take a dip in the holy Ganges to wash away all our
inherited sins... how easily said and done!
Is this the goal of life of one who wants to proceed on the path of
pure spirituality? Can such a one be trusted by God to hold the reign
of total humanity? It can never be. It is only those rare specimens of
humanity (mankind at large) like the ones of Rama Krishna Paramhansa
who become the pillar of light for the ailing society as a whole. And
what type of person Rama Krishna Paramhansa was?
At the peak of his spiritual life when Rama Krishna Paramhansa
realized that the soul (the Atman within) every being (not human
beings alone) is of the same nature... he started treating human
beings, animals and other forms of life the same. It so happened
one-day that a stray dog ventured into the kitchen of Ramakrishna
Paramhansa and the moment he noticed some chapatis lying there... he
clutched some in his mouth and ran away.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa who was watching the whole incident could not
bear that the stray dog... a child of God must eat the raw chapati
lest he choke himself. The chapatis in India are normally eaten after
splashing them with a stroke of Ghee (skimmed butter). Ramakrishna
Paramhansa immediately took a long spoon filled with Ghee and ran
towards the dog.
This stray dog on seeing that the master is running after him for
having stolen the chapatis and that too with a Batten in hand ran even
faster. Now, what was the message conveyed to the general public at
large on seeing such a sight. People thought that Ramakrishna
Paramhansa had gone berserk and children even threw stones at him
taking him to be an insane person. Was there any one living in the
times of Ramakrishna Paramhansa who could have judged the intelligence
of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. There was none equivalent to him in mental
capability. He had risen above the logistics of the senses and the
mind. He had become a free Atman (the soul within).
This continued for a period of more than two years. A normal human
being would not be able to survive such an onslaught... but for
Ramakrishna Paramhansa who was deeply immersed in the thoughts of God
all the time... the surrounding happenings mattered least! He was
totally oblivious rather unaware of such worldly happenings. It is
only those of the likes of Ramakrishna Paramhansa who realize God
one-day.
While proceeding on the path of the spirituality we also need to
understand that we are not supposed to do charity from within our
necessary wants. Only when we have excess of anything... we can spare
some for the needy. Never otherwise! Most charity on Mother Earth
these days is primarily considered as a token of supremacy of one over
the other. One who donates a bigger sum is given more weightage in the
society.
You say... you have chosen to become one with God as the goal of your
life! One who does not have absolute faith in the system of God... can
he be considered even a student of the path of spirituality. No! Such
a one desires commercial dealings in the system of God. The discussion
on shortcuts, reducing the period of practicing celibacy, wanting to
look into the past... not wanting to accept the laid down scriptural
facts are some of the factors which have already delivered the
judgment. You have failed to pass even the basics on the path of
spirituality.
You need to reassess your goal of life. Try to proceed on the path of
spirituality even while performing your karma and living your
day-to-day life... it is only very slowly when the truth ultimately
dawns upon you that you shall be able to truthfully tread the path of
spirituality. The truth that in the system of God we are not supposed
to question him... we are what we are... we are for we have earned it
owing to our karma of the previous lives. If we need to cut our
shackles and take the shortcut to the spiritual goal of life... we
need to have hundred percent faith in the system of God... it is only
then the pearls of wisdom become more clear to us and lead up straight
the ladder of spirituality!
As much as there is positive in the Cosmos... we have an equivalent
negative. The positive can be summed up as living in swarga (Heaven)
whereas the negative can be summed up as living in Naraka (hell)... to
think why God gave us sufferings and himself does not interfere in our
lives even though we are a creation of his... is indirectly blaming
God for his system. We are not supposed to question God, the Almighty
Creator! The moment one reaches the stage of Nirvikalpa samadhi...
every aspect of cosmic life becomes so crystal clear to us that the
reason for queries subsides forever.
Traveling the path of spirituality is like proceeding on a path with
undefined parameters... as many human beings... as many paths! No two
human beings can have the same path. One travels the unchartered
territory of the spiritual path with absolute faith in the system of
God... it is only then the pearls of wisdom keep showering upon us.
Slowly and gradually one by one our queries within start dissolving
and eventually we establish absolute control over the senses and the
mind.
Talking of mantras... no mantra is ever given by a spiritual master to
a Shishya (student) of spirituality unless and until one has reached a
certain level. Just by distributing books of class four to a student
of class two... can we expect this student to be able to digest the
contents of the book meant for class four? The spiritual master always
gives mantra at an appropriate time. No student is ever required to
ask for the same. Only an ignorant seeker of spirituality would desire
seeking a mantra.
In the history of Hinduism whenever any student... an earnest seeker
of spirituality reaches a particular level did the master on his own
showered upon the student the critical part of spiritual life in the
form of a mantra. No force or pressure can ever be applied to gain a
mantra. Mantra is not something that can be gained by force. It is
only in our physical world... the present materialistic world that one
can take hold of many things by force. In the spiritual realm such a
thing is never possible. To be able to exercise the magic of a
mantra... one needs to rise up to a certain level on the spiritual
platform.
It is like wanting to view the whole of New York from the fourth story
of Empire State building. We all know that to have a full glimpse of
New York we need to rise higher up to the top of the building... the
eightieth floor or above. Wants and desires carry no meaning in the
field of spirituality. In simpler words one who desires to proceed on
the path of pure spirituality needs to sublimate his ego on the altar
of God. It is only when we surrender fully that God takes care of us
while proceeding on the path of spirituality.
Meaning of meditation has been detailed by me in many queries on my
website. More on meditation here-
http://www.godrealized.com/glossary/meditation.html
In a nutshell meditation is the English phrase for yoga. And yoga is
derived from yog. In Hindi yog means the process of assimilating one
with other. In other words two yog two is equivalent to four. The
effort of the Atman (the soul within) to combine with Parmatman (the
super soul) is known as yoga. And Yoga is the means by which spiritual
masters of the yester era were able to complete their spiritual
journeys at a faster pace.
Without yoga (meditation) no human being can rightly proceed on the
path of spirituality. Yoga is best practiced in the form of jnana
yoga. And what does jnana yoga mean? Following the path of Neti (not
this, not this) as advocated and preached by Maharishi Ramana is the
shortcut on the path of spirituality for finding God, the Almighty
Creator. Meditation (yoga in other words) is the means by which one is
able to establish control over the senses and the mind so that the
flow of random thoughts through the brain every second of life becomes
stilled. This is the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Best way to practice meditation (yoga) is trying to negate every query
within us. As the queries within us go on dissolving... there comes a
stage when we shall have no further query within us. This is the
culmination of spiritual life... the stage of Nirvikalpa samadhi. The
Shavasana posture in yogic exercises primarily helps one in practicing
Neti to its full bloom. The Shavasana pose in yoga assists one in
practicing pranayama and Neti simultaneously. This posture in yoga
also relaxes the body to its extreme as is required for proper
meditation.
In the field of spirituality one has to practice sufficiently to be
able to understand the hidden underlying meaning of words in the
Scriptures. A cursory glance by me on the writings of a spiritual
master makes it clear whether one is god realized or not. I need not
go to the website of religious organization you are refereeing but it
is for sure that none in the organization has the realized God.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa of the modern times wherever he may be on
Mother Earth... the fragrance of his wisdom reaches every corner of
the world. It is not the knowledge of the books which count but... the
wisdom of the ages... the essence of Bhagavad Gita which makes the
complete cosmic system crystal clear.
Some of the paras above may seem like vials of poison but the truth...
the absolute truth is more critical in the present materialistic
world. None in the cosmic structure is at a lower or a higher level...
everyone belongs to his own class... we only need to excel in our
class and forget about the class above or lower than us. It is only
then we can maintain our sanity and wisdom. Life is like that... it is
a journey and not a destination! We need to live life as it is meant
to be... not as we desire to live (quoted in the materialistic
context).
If I need to go from New Delhi to Bombay... and having reached the
destination... what would be my interest in knowing about the quality
of marble used in Taj Mahal. This monument lies on way from New Delhi
to Bombay does not mean we try to go into the details of everything we
come across. We are only supposed to indulge in activities conforming
to our goal of life. Having realized God does not mean that I need to
indulge in every activity happening on Mother Earth. I get repeated
queries by the day that having realized God I would be able to know
the past and future of every human being.
Yes, it is true that as a god realized person I can know for sure
about the past and the future of a human being but that would amount
to commercialization of highest form of spirituality. This is just
prohibited in the domain of God. You are able to send me queries...
long ones indeed and the replies are self-explanatory... everything
comes to you without a cost. Why? Because of the prime reason that I
am not supposed to be charging anything for disseminating the wisdom
contained in the Bhagavad Gita... the truth behind all Scriptural
texts existing on Mother Earth.
Only few human beings who have not been able to digest why I am not
charging my fees in the present materialistic world support me with a
donation on the following page... it does help sometimes!
http://www.godrealized.com/world-wide-center-for-self-realization.html
We also need to understand that everything existing in the cosmic
system can be invoked by the power of Shruti... if I need to know
whether Acharya Rajneesh (presently known as osho) was self realized
or not I just need to go to the frequency on which Acharya Rajneesh
(presently known as osho) lived and everything which has passed
through the life of Acharya Rajneesh (presently known as osho) would
be reflected to me as if I was seeing a motion movie.
I am presently located at a somewhat higher level than the total
mankind... and if at any subordinate stage... one makes efforts in
realizing God... the mental waves of that person would automatically
get reflected to me. It happens many a times in life that even before
our subordinate working in office opens his mouth... we are able to
know for sure what one is wanting to talk about.
I shall only be glad to reply to your queries but please avoid
repetition of all queries of commercial nature. Even religion and
spirituality mean different... treading the path of pure spirituality
is like trying to walk on a row of spearheads and that too poisoned!
Most people in this world follow the path of religion and not
spirituality. The journey for seekers of spirituality is long but
stable... one never knows when the grace of God shall shower upon us
and we are blessed with Kaivalya jnana (absolute wisdom) at the end.
Vijay Kumar ...
(The Man who Realized God in 1993)
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