"God Realization''

     "God Realization' and 'Self Realization'                                         

      “What delusion, what sorrow is there for the wise man who sees the unity of existence and perceives all beings as his own?” [Isavasya Upa.7]

     The concept of ‘Samashti’, which states that 'there is but one soul throughout the universe, all is but one existence' is a great Vedantic view of existence. This concept is a leveler of all inequalities, rich and poor, strong and weak, advanced and backward; and, even the ugly and the beautiful, man and animal are included in this! This is a noble idea that heralds the real and basic solidarity of the whole universe, the ideal of ‘ the oneness of things’. It is this basic concept that India offered to the whole world, the concept of ‘universal brotherhood’ and ‘world peace and happiness’, the concepts of “vasudaiva Kutumbakam” and Sarve Jano sukhino bhavantu”, respectively. Here there is no distinction between man and beast or even the plants! This is the key to ecological balance. See the Rig Vedic Mantra given in the first page.            

         Adopting this basic concept ‘Samashti’, one can solve the present day maladies of development that have resulted in eco-degradation, environmental hazards, social inequities, and cruelty to animals. In order to understand this basic concept, one has to go to the depth of the Self, the immutable Brahman.

          Atman (‘Being’) is the Self. This Atman is hidden in all beings and it is not manifest to all easily. But it can be realized by means of the sharp and subtle reason of those who have been trained to enquire into and realize subtle truths. Isavasya Upanisad states that, “He, the self-existent, is everywhere, without a body, without muscles, and without the taint of sin, radiant, whole, and pure, seeing all, knowing all, and encompassing all, He duly assigned their respective duties to the eternal Prajapatis”.

 “The Self is one. Unmoving, it is faster than mind. Having preceded the mind, It is beyond the reach of the senses. Ever steady, it outstrips all that run. By Its mere presence, enables the cosmic energy to sustain the activities of living beings. It moves, and moves not. It is far and It is near. It is within all this and It is also outside all this”. [Isavasya Upanisad. 4- 5, 8]."Engrossment with the many without knowing the One behind it is the bane of ignorant life. ‘The secret of the many is that the One can appear to be many without losing its identity. On knowing the One, the many lose their binding influence on the seer’."

        Those persons who remain satisfied with the performance of the rituals only, and never strive to know the real significance of the works as explained in the scriptures, are rajasic and cannot attain to that sattvic state of life that rests upon the glorious union of the ritualistic actions with the knowledge of their full significance. But still worse are the persons who remain contented with the mere theoretical knowledge about the gods and sacrifices gathered from the scriptural study, and never stir them selves up for any action. They are tamsic, and as such, are necessarily relegated by their own inactivity to the inert state, which, of all levels of existence, is the one farthest away from the Truth. ‘Mere conceptual knowledge of Brahman is not enough. It must be combined with the practice of spiritual disciplines’. 

       Not to speak of ordinary people, even great scholars fail to comprehend ‘Atman’. Atman can be seen or realized through pure buddhi, since it is an ever-present datum of experience.

      “Let the wisdom, prajnya merge the speech in manas and the manas in buddhi; Let him merge the buddhi in the cosmic mind and merge cosmic mind again in the Self of Peace, the Atman, or the Purusha”.

    Mahanarayana Upanishad [Sec.XIII. 1-5] gives a vivid description of that Supreme Reality,'Parabrahman' and implores that one should meditate on Him:

       "Sahasrasheersham devamvishvaaksham vishvashambhuvam I

         Vishvam Naarayanam devamaksharam paramamprabhum  II

         Vishvatah paramamnityavishvam Narayanam Harim I

         Vishvamevedam purushastadvishvam upajeevati  II

         Patim Vishvasyaatmeshvaram shaashvatam Shivam Achyutam  I

         Naaraayanam Mahaajnyeyam Vishvaatmaanam Paarayanam  II

         Naarayanam param Brahma tatvam Naaraayana parah I

         Naarayanaparodhyaataa dhyaanam Naaraayana parah  II     

         Yaccha kinchitjagatyasmin drushyate shrooyatopi vaa I

         Antarbahischam tatsarvam vyaapya Naaraayanah sthitam  II

         Narayana is the Supreme Reality designated as Brahman, Narayana is the Highest self, Narayana is the Suipreme Light. Narayana is the Infinite Self. Narayana is the most excellent meditator and meditation. One should meditate upon the Supreme- the limitless, unchanging, all-knowing, cause of the happiness of the world, dwelling in the sea of one's heart, as the goal of all striving.  The place of his meditation is the ether in the heart- the heart which is like an inverted lotus bud that turns towards the Sun when it is contemplated upon.                           

    Katha Upanishad (V.12.13) presents the ‘Atman’, the ‘Unlimited Reality’ as also the ‘Intimate Reality’.

“The one Supreme Controller of all the inner Self of all beings, who makes His one form manifold- those dhiras (wise men) who realize Him as existing in their own self, to them belongs eternal happiness and to none else”.

 “The Eternal among the non-eternals, the intelligence in those that are intelligent, who though one, fulfills the desires of the many, - those dhiras who perceive Him as existing in their own Self, to them belongs eternal peace and to none else”.

  “ … Glory of the Self that appears as man, the most glorious God that ever existed, or ever will exist, can never be imagined in books, scriptures or sciences”.

    In day- to- day life, the Self is greedily possessed of this world. Without this Self, there is no world at all. And, yet, this conscious Self dies nightly when we sleep, and we cannot trace the stages by which in its stages it crept to an awareness of its own existence.

   Normally, what we call personality may be only one of Nature’s methods, a convenient provisional delusion of considerable strategic value. The more intelligent and comprehensive man’s picture of the Universe has become, the more intolerable has become his concentration upon the individual life with its inevitable final rejection. One escapes from his ego by this merger, i.e., identification with and participation in a greater being, and acquires an impersonal immortality in the association, his identity dissolving into the greater identity.

      According to the religious mysticism, the individual saves oneself by losing himself.  In mystical teaching, the individual loses himself in the Deity; in the scientific interpretation, he identifies himself as ‘Man’. The Buddhists teach that ‘the individual life is a painful delusion from which men escape by conquest of individual desire’.

  “Self must be subordinated; it s a means to an end, but not an end by itself.  Ego is a part of the ceaseless flow of Nature. The reality behind this ego is the ultimate observer or ‘Sakshi’. The Sakshi is that timeless being which witnesses all flow and change in the world of thoughts and things."

 ‘Sakshi’ is the Supreme entity existing in a person. That is the eye of the eye, ear of the ear, taster, experiencer, thinker and all. Self is limited Man; Saakshi is the Universal (any other Man who is in similar moral and intelligent state of mind, absolute mind and unconditioned mind). The two important characteristics of the Saakshi are detachment and universality. It marks the highest point of perfection- the power of de-personalisation. In Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that,' the true self of man is unborn, immortal, and eternal'. (Gita Ch.II 16).  It is also said, ‘that the Sakshi being the Ultimate Subject, there is considerable difficulty in comprehending it truly’. (Gita, II. 29). Further, ‘when one attains the ‘Sakshi’- consciousness, he finds life in an entirely new perspective. All the false values, which the ego attached to life and its functions, get destroyed. Thus life becomes beautiful and harmonious- in tune with everything else and with himself. Welfare of mankind and Universal Love becomes hallmark of such persons’. (Bhagavad-Gita, II 71, III 17, IV 18, XII 13-14 &18-19).

   There is a beautiful imagery of two birds of golden plumage sitting on the branch of a tree in the Rk Veda, [“Dvaa Suparna….”] one eating the fruits, sweet and bitter, and the other witnessing this, sits immersed in its own glory [Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.1-2]. The bird enjoying the fruit is the man enjoying the fruits of action (Karma), the man deluded and feeling helpless. The bird witnessing it is the Self, Adorable and the Sovereign, ever free, realizing himself as but His glory. As the first bird finishes eating the fruits (of its action), it comes nearer and nearer the other bird (witnessing Self) and merges itself with the other (Realises the Self).

     This is the reality that reveals itself to the discerning mind as the unchanging ‘saakshi’ or witness of all the changing subjects and objects of the various states. Since it is not limited by any one particular state as the ego is, it is infinite. After realization of this truth, one does not desire to protect or defend oneself, because of the realization of non-duality and the attainment of the state of fearlessness. All ideas of hatred, offense, self-protection, self-defense, and assertiveness proceed from fear, from a feeling of inadequacy with respect to the environment. That is why, it is said ‘fear is the key’.

      Realization of the Atman means realization of one’s infinite dimensions and of one’s spiritual unity with all; its fruit is infinite love and infinite strength. The Vedanta presents the Atman-Brahman as the ‘Unified Experience Field’ and, as such,“inside all beings and outside all beings, He there- fore is the all”.

     In Srimad Bhagavatam VIII.3.3, it is clearly stated that:

    “I take refuge in that self-existent Being, in whom is this Universe, from Whom is this Universe, by Whom is this Universe; Who Himself is this Universe and Who is beyond this (differentiated Nature) as also beyond that (Undifferentiated Nature)”.

    'Paramatman' is Immanence and 'Parabrahman' is Transcendence. Parabrahman when described as the cause of the universe is called “Parameswara” or “Prajapati”. Parabrahman conditioned by the adjuncts of the universe is ‘Prajapati’, so is the ‘Parabrahman’. Conditioned by the adjuncts of the body is termed a human being- ‘Praja’. The same Prajapati who sustains vast oceans, planets, earth, and heaven enters as a seed or as a ‘spark’ and becomes the ‘Jeeva’ or the acting and enjoying agent on the earth. The Paramatman enters the seed and becomes the inner-most Self of all beings. Paramatman is the Supreme Self, “Virat” ensouling the universe. He that is dwelling in the body of all jeevas is the Self, the ‘Atma’.

 "Jeeva, the individual soul is the principle intelligence that co-exists with the Supreme Being; but it is thoroughly and absolutely dependent on Him", says Vedanta. 

  If the whole Universe is the product of a self-evolving cause, which Vedanta and modern physical science uphold, then that cause must be present in all its evolutionary products, which then can have no reality apart from it. This corollary follows, whether that cause is viewed as an intelligent principle- Brahman or Atman as in Vedanta, or as a non-intelligent background material, as in modern science. That one cause must account not only for all the objects of experience, but also for all the subjects of experience, and for all experience itself. The solar system being a product of the Sun, the food that we eat, as much as the human metabolic energy which digests it, the coal we burn, and the clothes we wear are all but solar energy in different manifestations. Einstein remarked that, “there is no place in this new kind of physics both for the field and matter, for the field is the only reality.