Self-Realisation

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mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> The Rishis (seers of

truth), absorbed in meditation, saw within themselves the ultimate Reality, the

self-luminous Being, the one God, who dwells as the self-conscious power in all

creatures. He is one without a second. Deep within all beings He dwells, hidden

from sight by the coverings of the gunas – sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. He presides

over time, space, and all apparent causes. Like oil in sesame seeds, butter

in cream, water in the

river-bed, fire in the tinder, the Self dwells within the soul. Realise Him

through truthfulness and meditation. Like butter in cream is the Self in

everything. Knowledge of the Self is gained through meditation. The Self is

Brahman (Supreme Reality). By Brahman is all ignorance destroyed. Fire,

though present in the firestick, is not perceived until one stick is rubbed

against another. The Self is like that fire; it is realised in the body by

meditation on the sacred syllable OM (AUM).

Let your body be the stick that is rubbed, the sacred syllable OM the stick

that is rubbed against it. Thus shall you realise God, who is hidden within the

body as fire is hidden within the wood. He who is realised by transcending the

world of cause and effect, in deep contemplation, is expressly declared by the

scriptures to be

the Supreme Brahman. He is the substance, all else the shadow. He is the

imperishable. The knowers of Brahman know Him as the one reality behind all

that seems. For this reason they are devoted to Him. Absorbed in Him, they

attain freedom from the wheel of birth, death and rebirth. Matter is

perishable. The Lord, the destroyer of

ignorance, is imperishable, immortal. He is the one God, the Lord of the

perishable and of all souls. By meditating in Him, by uniting oneself with Him,

one ceases to be ignorant. Know God, and all fetters will be loosed.

Ignorance will vanish. Birth, death and rebirth will be no more. Meditate upon

Him and transcend physical consciousness. Thus will you reach union with the

Lord of the universe. But you must know this. Nothing further is there to know.

Meditate, and you will realise that mind, matter, and Maya (the power that

unites mind and matter) are but three aspects of Brahman, the one Reality.

0.3pt"> To realise God ... To realise God, first control the outgoing senses

and harness the mind. Then meditate upon the light in the heart of the fire -

meditate, that is, upon Pure Consciousness as distinct from the ordinary

consciousness of the intellect. Thus the Self, the Inner Reality, may be seen

behind physical appearance. Control your mind so that the Ultimate reality,

the self-luminous Lord, may be revealed. Strive earnestly for eternal bliss.

With the help of the mind and the intellect, keep the senses from attaching

themselves to objects of

pleasure. They will then be purified by the light of the Inner reality, and

that light will be revealed. The wise control their minds, and unite their

hearts with the infinite, the omniscient, the all-pervading Lord. Only

discriminating souls practice spiritual disciplines. Great is the glory of the

self-luminous Being, the inner Reality.

mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Hear, all ye children of immortal bliss, also ye

gods who dwell in the high heavens: Follow only in the footsteps of the

illumined ones, and by continuous meditation merge both mind and intellect in

the eternal Brahman. The glorious Lord will be revealed to you. Control the

vital force. Set fire to the Self within by the practice of meditation. Be

drunk with the wine of divine love. Thus shall you reach perfection.

0.3pt">Be devoted to the eternal Brahman. Unite the light within you with the

light of Brahman. Thus will the source of ignorance be destroyed, and you will

rise above karma. Sit upright, holding the chest, throat and head erect. Turn

the senses and the mind inward to the lotus of the heart. Meditate on Brahman

with the help of the syllable OM. Cross the fearful currents of the ocean of

worldliness by means of the raft of Brahman – the sacred syllable OM.

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With earnest effort hold the senses in check. Controlling the breath, regulate

the vital activities. As a charioteer holds back his restive horses, so does a

persevering aspirant hold back his mind. Retire to a solitary place, such as

a mountain cave or a sacred spot. The place must be protected from the wind and

rain, and it must have a smooth, clean floor, free from pebbles and dust. It

must not be damp, and it must

be free from disturbing noises. It must be pleasing to the eye and quieting to

the mind. Seated there, practice meditation and other spiritual exercises. As

you practice meditation, you may see in vision forms resembling snow, crystals,

smoke, fire, lightning, fireflies, the sun, the moon. These are signs that you

are on your way to the revelation of Brahman. As you become absorbed in

meditation, you will realise that the Self is separate from the body and for

this reason will not be affected by disease, old age or death.

10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> The first signs of progress on the path

of Yoga are health, a sense of physical lightness, clearness of complexion, a

beautiful voice, an agreeable odour of the person, and freedom from craving.

As a soiled piece of metal, when it has been cleaned, shines brightly, so the

dweller in the body, when he has realised the truth of the Self, loses his

sorrow and becomes radiant with bliss.The yogi experiences directly the truth

of Brahman by realising the light of

the Self within. He is freed from all impurities – He is pure, the birthless,

the bright. He is the one God, present on the north, the east, the south and

the west. He is the creator. He enters into all wombs. He alone is now born as

all beings, and He alone is to be born as all beings in the future. He is

within all persons as the inner Self, facing in all directions.

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Let us adore the Lord,

the luminous one, who is in fire, who is in water, who is in plants and trees,

who pervades the whole universe. At the periods of creation and dissolution of

the universe, He alone exists. Those who realise Him become immortal. The

Lord is one without a second. Within man, and within all other beings, He

projects the universe, maintains it, and withdraws it into Himself. His eyes

are everywhere; His face, His arms, His feet are in every place. Out of Himself

He has produced the heavens and the earth, and with His arms and His wings He

holds them together. He is the origin and support of the gods. He is the Lord

of all. He confers bliss and wisdom upon those who are devoted to Him. He

destroys their sins and their sorrows.

Arial"> He punishes those who break His laws. He sees all and knows all. May He

endow us with good thoughts! This vast universe is a wheel. Upon it are all

creatures that are subject to birth and death and rebirth. Round and round it

turns, and never stops. It is the wheel of Brahman. As long as the individual

self thinks it is separate from Brahman, it revolves upon the wheel in bondage

to the laws of birth, death and rebirth. But when through the grace of Brahman

it realises its identity with

Him, it revolves upon the wheel no longer. It achieves immortality. The Lord

supports this universe, which is made up of the perishable and the

imperishable, the manifest and the unmanifest. The individual soul, forgetful

of the Lord, attaches itself to pleasure and thus is bound. When it comes to

the Lord, it is freed from all its fetters.

mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Mind and matter, master and servant- both have

existed from beginnigless time. The Maya that unites them has also existed from

beginningless time. When all three- mind, matter, and Maya- are known as one

with Brahman, then is it realised that the Self is infinite and has no part in

action. Then it is revealed that the Self is all. O Lord, Thou hast revealed

Thy sacred syllable OM, which is one with Thee. In Thy hands it is a weapon with

which to destroy ignorance. O protector of Thy devotees, do not conceal Thy

benign person.

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Thou art the Supreme Brahman. Thou art infinite. Thou hast assumed the forms of

all creatures, remaining hidden in them. Thou prevadest all things. Thou art the

one God of the universe. Those who realise Thee become immortal. Said the

great seer Svetasvatara:

mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> I have known beyond all darkness, that great

Person of golden effulgence. Only by knowing Him does one conquer death. There

is no other way of escaping the wheel of birth, death and rebirth.There is

nothing superior to Him, nothing different from Him, nothing subtler or greater

than He. Alone He stands, changeless, self-luminous; He, the great one, fills

this universe. Though He fills this universe, He transcends it. He is

untouched by its sorrows. He has no form.

Those who know Him become immortal. Others remain in the depths of misery. The

Lord God, all-pervading and omnipresent, dwells in the heart of all beings. Full

of grace, He ultimately gives liberation to all creatures by turning their faces

forward Himself.He is the innermost Self. He is the great Lord. He it is that

reveals the purity within the heart by means of which He, who is pure Being,

may be reached. He is the ruler. He is the great light, shining forever.

This great Being, assuming the form of the size of a thumb, forever dwells in

the heart of all creatures as their innermost Self. He can be known directly by

the purified mind through spiritual discrimination. Knowing Him, men become

immortal. This great Being has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a

thousand feet. He envelopes the universe. Though transcendent, He is to be

meditated upon as residing in the lotus of the heart, at the centre of the

body, ten fingers above the navel. He alone is all this- what has been and

what shall be. He has become the universe, yet He remains forever changeless,

and is the Lord of immortality. Without organs of sense, yet reflecting the

activities of the senses, He is the Lord and ruler of all.He is the friend and

refuge of all. He resides in the body, the city of nine gates. He sports in the

world

and without in innumerable forms. He is the Master, the ruler of the whole

world, animate and inanimate. He moves fast, though without feet. He grasps

everything, though without hands. He sees everything , though without eyes. He

hears everything, though without ears. He knows all that is, but no one knows

Him. He is called the Supreme, the Great One.

mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Subtler than the subtlest, greater than the

greatest, the Self is hidden in the heart of all creatures. Through His grace a

man loses his cravings, transcends grief, and realises Him as Brahman Supreme.

If the truth of these scriptures are meditated upon by a man in the highest

degree devoted to God, and (devoted) to his guru (spiritual teacher) as to his

God, they will shine forth. They will shine forth indeed!

0.3pt">Om… peace – peace –peace Thank you Aravind

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