Achieving Self- Realization

The following article is not for everyone.  It will only appeal to those rare diehard individuals who seek the highest goal of achieving God consciousness, who have a hunger for self realization (atmagyan ); For those who have an undying thirst for learning the universal truth and discovering their true divine nature.

The formula to achieve God consciousness or self realization is very simple,  but very difficult to execute. The formula is- Still your mind.

Annhilate all thoughts as mind is nothing but thoughts.

No- not even positive thoughts will help attain self realization.  The fact that one puts in conscious effort to think positive thoughts is an indication of the amount of negativity that has overtaken one’s mind. Don’t try to slay negative thoughts with positive thoughts-  just become thought free.

The world appears real because of constant thoughts.  Once thoughts subside and the mind becomes completely still- the universal truth is revealed. All sorrow and suffering disappears and one revels in the divine blissful knowledge of Truth.

One need not go on pilgrimages or chant mantras or practice extreme yoga or austerities. There is no need for ritualistic worship or charitable karmic pursuits in hope for some gain.  There is no need to twist your body into a pretzel or stand on your head.

Just be thought free.

For the individuals who are the right candidate, simply reading  scriptures on self-realization or Brahma Gyan and listening to discourses by the right guru is enough to help them understand the principle and achieve this highest state.

Prahlad- the son of the evil asura king Hiranyakashipu is known as one of the greatest devotees of Lord Vishnu. Prahlad was not the son of a great soul nor was his son blessed with any special perks simply for being the son of a virtuous soul.

Prahlad’s son Virochan who was imparted this knowledge by the divine Lord Brahma himself about 30 times couldn’t achieve true knowledge. This goes to show that just because one is the child of a great saint or has the greatest guru on earth- if one is not a worthy vessel for receiving this knowledge they just won’t get it. Whereas for one who is a worthy recipient- just a few words of wisdom heard or read are enough for them to grasp the essence of the principle and apply it undeterred until they achieve the experience of the greatest secret that even the devas ( celestial beings) failed to understand and seers strived to experience.  It is said that even the devtas are jealous of one who achieves Brahma Gyan.

Once you experience Brahma Gyan you understand the concept that God indeed is everywhere and in every living being.  There is no feeling of individualism.  There is no “I” only feeling of oneness with all creatures big or small.

With our small minds we have tried to define Him and explain Him and challenge him by limiting him with our limited senses. ( arguments like if God is omnipresent and omnipotent then why don’t we see Him or why is there so much suffering? Why doesn’t he appear to help those in dire need?).  We have had the audacity to describe his job description and then also failed him since He didn’t meet the passing grade as per our requirements.  He is not a super hero who dives in to scoop the lady in distress as he should according to our understanding of a super hero.  We have tried to measure Him on that same scale as a ninja warrior or super heroes as depicted in Marvel and DC comics.  This is where the topic of free will and karma comes in- a topic for another day.  If you plant poison berry don’t expect cherries.

He is limitless and hence beyond our senses and can only be experienced through consciousness of a pure mind. But a pure mind is a still mind with no thoughts waves disturbing it.

Those with small minds will once again mistake the stillness of mind with that of being brain dead or indifferent, but then this article is not meant for every individual. Those who are worthy will effortlessly  understand the message shared here.

OM TAT SAT

THAT IS THE TRUTH

 

 

 

 

Concentration, Meditation and Self Realization

What Meditation is not?

A person who received a certificate from a meditation program doesn’t even know what true meditation is or what it should feel like because they themselves have never experienced it.  They can only teach what they have been trained to teach. They will tell you that focusing on your breath is meditation. Focusing mentally on your breath is not meditation.  It is concentration.  We might say it is one of the simplest forms of meditation or a meditation for beginners, but in the true sense it is concentration. In Hindi it is called dharana and it is the sixth limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga ( eight limb yoga) that begins with yam (basic moral values), niyam (discipline), pranayama (breathing techniques), asan (yoga poses), pratyahar (withdrawing of senses), dharana (concentration), Dhyan (meditation) , and finally samadhi ( the merging of one’s consciousness with Super consciousness/self realiztion/Brahman).
Uninterrupted concentration is a precursor to meditation and for ones who can train themselves to focus effectively, it forms a robust substratum for meditation. One can benefit tremendously from a regular 30 minute session of focusing on ones inhalation and exhalation. There are three ways to do this:

1. Just observe your natural inhalation and exhalation without trying to manipulate it.
2. Inhale and as you do, mentally count slowly to 10 and as you exhale do so mentally to a count of 10. Pause for a moment and inhale again.
3. Inhale slowly as you mentally chant SOoooooo and as you exhale slowly mentally chant Hummmm.

If done with sincerity you can experience the benefits immediately. You might feel more grounded, centered, calm, positive and have more clarity, better deeper sleep, compassion, kindness and forgiveness. It can help build a higher  threshold  for handling stress for negativity around oneself. Try to extend this ability to focus to everything you do. If you’re at home with your family don’t think about work and when you’re at work don’t think about home. Train yourself to give your 100% focus to whatever it is you are doing. The problem we all face today is that whatever task we are performing  in a given moment, it doesn’t have our full attention because  our attention has drifted to the next task instead of the one we are currently involved with. Trataka is another example of external concentration. In Trataka one focuses without blinking on the flame of a ghee lamp. Mantra chanting with rosary beads is yet another example of concentration. In a nutshell- trying to get the mind to focus is concentration.

 

This pictorial representation comes closest to attempting to explain self realization

Now what is meditation? 

In very simple terms- uninterrupted focus leads to the state of mediation.

Just as a certified meditation expert cannot really teach meditation but only provide some guidance, even so – a person who has experienced the highest Brahman state /self realization cannot teach another being how to meditate or attain self realization or what self realization feels like.

Why is it difficult to explain?

Because self realization is experienced through one’s consciousness not through the senses.  There are many words to describe every feeling one experiences through the senses, but there are no words to describe the state of Brahman. They can only attempt to describe what it should feel like and still fail for lack of words.

As I write this I realize I am struggling to best explain this experience of Brahman. It is happiness without cause but a very grounded happiness.  But then again it is a state of neither happiness nor sorrow, neither ambition nor inertness, neither action nor inaction, neither compassion nor apathy, devoid of anger, devoid of indifference, devoid of desire, devoid of restlessness. The state of Brahmi is one of silent contentment, peace, ecstasy, equanimity and pure love all at the same time that spontaneously emanates from within in the absence of an external source or cause.  That is my very feeble and inadequate attempt to even begin to explain the experience of Brahman or self realization. The realization that the world is false and the only truth is our pure, divine nature bursting with unconditional grounding love. That is the state of being self realized.

In my next article I will touch upon some guidance tips for higher meditation.

My Spiritual Awakening Experience

Below I am sharing three of my most significant divine experiences with readers. Hopefully this will dispel any doubts and inspire you to continue on your spiritual journey.

From the Spiritual Diary

The Unstruck Sound:

I wish I had written this down sooner, but the demands of a family responsibility took first place. So here I am now a week later and I still wouldn’t have written this down if it weren’t for what I learned yesterday. It is May 29, 2005. Last week I awoke to a pleasant reverberation of Aum in my mind. No, I was not chanting Aum, nor was I thinking Aum, but as soon as I opened my eyes I could hear the harmonious reverberations loud and clear, effortless in my ears and mind. It was a beautiful sensation; Most divine. I just lay there in bed quietly without blinking almost in a state of daze for fear of losing it. I felt the calm of the break of dawn and the calm in my mind energized by the unstoppable sound that all of a sudden sprung forth out of nowhere. It only lasted for a few moments, but I feel blessed that I am one of the very few individuals who got to taste that divine nectar, that feeling of bliss however short lived it was, but for a brief period it was mine.

Following the experience, I did some research and found an article on-line: http://sannyas.org/quotes/chakra06.htm. To my surprise, it mentioned my Aum experience exactly the way I had experienced it – as something that you can’t force. You can hear the Universal sound without any effort on your part and without any need for deep concentration or meditation. It flows freely and the individual has no control over it. I have realized that I may have experienced something so special and indescribable. I think only someone who has experienced the same will be able to understand what I mean.

2011 Update: Unfortunately the page doesn’t exist anymore, but below is part of the article that I had saved back in 2005. I believe it was written by Osho.

“And the heart centre is the centre from where the soundless sound arises. If you relax into the heart centre, you will hear Omkar, Aum. That is a great discovery. Those who have entered the heart, they hear a continuous chanting inside their being which sounds like aum. Have you ever heard anything like a chanting which goes on by itself? – not that you do it. That’s why I am not in favour of mantras. You can go on chanting aum, aum, aum, and you can create a mental substitute for the heart. It is not going to help. It is a deception. And you can go on chanting for years, and you can create a false sound within yourself as if your heart is speaking – it is not.

To know the heart you are not to chant aum – you have just to be silent. One day, suddenly the mantra is there. One day, when you have fallen silent, suddenly you hear the sound is coming from nowhere. It is arising out of you from the innermost core. It is the sound of your inner silence. Just as in a silent night, there is a certain sound, the sound of the silence, exactly like that on a very, very much deeper level a sound arises in you. It arises – let me remind you again and again – it is not that you bring it in; it is not that you repeat aum, aum. No, you don’t say a single word. You are simply quiet. You are simply silent. And it bursts forth like a spring…suddenly it starts flowing, it is there. You hear it – you don’t say it, you hear it.”

A month or so after I stared doing Pranayam, I had yet another experience worth mentioning. I was trying to fall asleep at night and after a while I felt myself ease into a slumber only to be woken up by extreme silence. I felt as though I was 3 times bigger than my actual body. This experience actually intimidated me and led me to suspend all yogic practices for a while.

In the summer of 2007, I experienced spontaneous bliss. Words cannot begin to describe the feeling. Emotions of intense love and compassion flooded every fiber of my being. I felt a connection to every living organism and the presence of a force bigger and stronger became intelligible. Intense bliss took over. The hollowness of the material world at once became clear. The esoteric finally made sense. The only thing I remember that led to this state of ecstasy was that I was in a meditative state (not sitting and meditating, but going around my daily activities while meditating and preventing any thoughts from arising in my mind (chitta vrittii nirodh-preventing the rise of thoughts (vrittis) in the mind (chitta).

God realization/Self Realization
What is Brahman.

Over the years I read several Hindu scriptures and discovered that  my experience above matches the description of what is called Self-Realization or God-Realization or realization of Brahman-the formless God that pervades the entire Universe.

08/27/2013:  I just learned that this type of bliss can be achieved through Bhavana Samadhi which is achieved through meditation that involves ceasing of thoughts. There are other paths that lead to Self realization that involve rigorous Yogic Kriyas/techniques.

I have included some information below if you want to know more about this.  This kind of Samadhi does not involve the union of kundalini Shakti with Siva which gives the practitioner various psychic powers and siddhis and which is actually achieved through rigorous practices and might also be extremely dangerous.

Point to be noted is that most spiritual experiences usually happen when the mind is at its calmest, which is very early in the morning when you are just about to wake up or at night when you are just drifting into the dream state. Some paranormal experiences can be scary, but remember, they are very rare and don’t repeat themselves often. They happen when you least expect them.

NOTE:

In the first place, there are two main lines of Yoga, namely, Dhyana or Bhavana-Yoga and Kundalini Yoga; and there is a marked difference between the two. The first class of Yoga is that in which ecstasy (Samadhi) is obtained by intellective processes (Kriya-Jnana) of meditation and the like, with the aid, it may be, of auxiliary processes of Mantra or Hatha Yoga (other than the rousing of Kundalini) and by detachment from the world; the second stands apart as that portion of Hatha Yoga in which, though intellective processes are not neglected, the creative and sustaining Sakti of the whole body is actually and truly united with the Lord Consciousness. The Yogin makes Her introduce him to Her Lord, and enjoys the bliss of union through her. Though it is he who arouses Her, it is She who gives knowledge or Jnana, for She is Herself that. The Dhyana Yogin gains what acquaintance with the Supreme state his own meditative powers can give him and knows not the enjoyment of union with Siva in and through the fundamental Body-power. The two forms of Yoga differ both as to method and result. The Hatha Yogin regards his Yoga and its fruit as the highest;

the Jnana Yogin may think similarly of his own. Kundalini is so renowned that many seek to know her. Having studied the theory of this Yoga, one may ask: “Can one get on without it?” The answer is: “It depends upon what you are looking for”. If you want to rouse Kundalini Sakti, to enjoy the

bliss of union of Siva and Sakti through Her and to gain the accompanying powers (Siddhis), it is obvious that this end can be achieved only by the Kundalini Yoga. In that case, there are some risks incurred. But if Liberation is sought without desire for union through Kundalini, then, such Yoga is

not necessary; for, Liberation may be obtained by Pure Jnana Yoga through detachment, the exercise and then the stilling of the mind, without any rousing of the central Bodily-power at all.

Instead of setting out in and from the world to unite with Siva, the Jnana Yogin, to attain this result, detaches himself from the world. The one is the path of enjoyment and the other of asceticism.

Samadhi may also be obtained on the path of devotion (Bhakti) as on that of knowledge. Indeed, the ighest devotion (Para Bhakti) is not different from Knowledge. Both are Realisation. But, whilst Liberation (Mukti) is attainable by either method, there are other marked differences between the

two. A Dhyana Yogin should not neglect his body, knowing that as he is both mind and matter, each reacts, the one upon the other. Neglect or mere mortification of the body is more apt to produce disordered imagination than a true spiritual experience. He is not concerned, however, with the

body in the sense that the Hatha Yogin is. It is possible to be a successful Dhyana Yogin and yet to

be weak in body and health, sick and short-lived. His body, and not he himself, determines when he

shall die. He cannot die at will. When he is in Samadhi, Kundalini Sakti is still sleeping in the

Muladhara, and none of the physical symptoms and psychical bliss or powers (Siddhis) described

as accompanying Her rousing are observed in his case. The ecstasy which he calls “Liberation

while yet living” (Jivanmukti) is not a state like that of real Liberation. He may be still subject to a

suffering body from which he escapes only at death, when if at all, he is liberated. His ecstasy is in

the nature of a meditation which passes into the Void (Bhavana-samadhi) effected through negation

of all thought-form (Chitta-Vritti) and detachment from the world—a comparatively negative

process in which the positive act of raising the Central Power of the body takes no part. By his

effort, the mind which is a product of Kundalini as Prakriti Sakti, together with its worldly desires,

is stilled so that the veil produced by mental functioning is removed from Consciousness. In Laya

Yoga, Kundalini Herself, when roused by the Yogin (for such rousing is his act and part), achieves

for him this illumination.