Effect of Self-Realization

Self-Realization (Atma-sakshatkara)

    What exactly happens when the jiva contemplates on itself is the realization of its true nature. After a long contemplation, the jiva realizes that the body it has built over a time from food, say a few drops of milk or a spoonful of baby food, starting from the day it is born to its ripe old age eating breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a few drinks in between holding is nothing but a earthen pot! It is the same food that is converted into cells, tissues, organs with blood and bones. It is almost 70 per cent water and 28 per cent earth (food), the rest being air, fire and space within. Thus, the microcosmic jiva is a replica of the macrocosm. That is the reason why the scriptures say; as is the macro, so is the brahmanda (micro) so is the pindanda (microcosm). The miniscule organic entity that constitutes the jiva as the ‘cells’ (jiva kosha) plays a vital role here. The blue print of the entire jiva is held in a jelly like protein-covered cell consisting of the amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, hormones, chromosomes, the Ribo nucleic acids (RNA) and the DNA. The entire plan and the path of journey of the jiva’s journey is mapped here. In fact, every aspect of birth, growth and death is clearly laid down in a zipped manner like a computer memory chip! This realization is ‘Atma sakshatkar’.

   The jiva, in the course of its deep contemplation in a state of transcendental meditation, suddenly gets a flash, realizes that it is not the physical body, the senses and mind, the buddhi or the ahankar, but a divine spark, a photon.  It is not even the torso, the limbs or the head that matters in day-to-day life. The mind itself plays a dominant role in life of the jiva, much to its disadvantage! Mind is the cause of misery and the jiva suffers due to its ignorance.

   Suddenly, a turning point comes in its life when it realises the nature of its true self. It realizes that the jiva arrived as an energy particle, a particle of Light, photon, reached the earth and got embedded in an earthen pot, a gross body, The horoscope give the exact location of the star in the sky. It is not difficult to decipher all these secrets from a horoscope provided the astrologer is also an astronomer! Otherwise, it is just a pastime.

     The Bhagavad-Gita also gives these details how the jiva is not a mortal body but an unborn, eternal and immortal entity as the soul, Atman or ‘jiva jyoti’ embodied in an earthen shell; Life is not just a journey from the date of birth to the date of death. It is the eternal journey of a particle of Light is space. This Light contains knowledge, consciousness (Chit), having all information in a zipped chip form, with the ability to transform objects and run a course in different forms and functions.

     Thus, LIFE is a manifest form of several subtler forces such as Light (Knowledge), Intelligence, Force (Shakti), and Energy (Prana). It also contains the essential ingredients of a divine nature, the sat, chit, and ananda. It is capable of visualizing its true nature. This is called ‘Shiva’ in the scriptures. Shiva is not only aware of Himself as the Self, but also, as ‘an other’, another not much different than the Self. The world, ‘prakruti’, or Shive is the creative power of Shiva. Thus, the jiva is nothing but Shiva.  Shiva is prakasha (Light), Shiva is also Shive, vimarsha, the analytical aspect, the universe. The combined aspect of Shiva and Shive, as Shivayuvati or ardhanarishvara is one. Thus, everything is the manifest form of one’s own, the Self.  

How the Jiva arrives on Earth:

   The Bhagvad-Gita explains how the jiva arrives on earth. All the living beings survive on food which comes from the soil. Plants depend on Rain for germination of seeds. Rain comes from clouds. Clouds are formed from evaporation of water from oceans due to sun’s heat. Thus, it is the same ‘solar energy’ that lies in the form of water vapor in the clouds that produce rain due to cooling and condensation. This ‘solar energy’ is the ‘life–force’ that we get from the sun as well as the distant stars. Each jiva is an ‘ion’, a subatomic particle, a photon, a stellar dust particle, in this sense of the term.

    This life-force or ‘prana’ is at the root of all jivas (prani). Water, heat, and soil play a very important role in germination of the seed. Vedic Texts say, “purusha’ (brahmn) is the seed. In the Gita, Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, “I am the seed of creation”. Everything is ‘chaitanya’, energy inherent in spirit as we as matter that is unborn, eternal and immortal. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy is derived from sun, also known as Aditya (and distant stars, too,) as far as earth and its living beings are concerned. The Sun is the chief source of energy for us. As regards the actual process of creation or evolution of life forms, there are a number of sources and Vishnu purana and Devi Purana are the important ones. Some of these details are given later. However, in brief, it is stated that “Eighty-four thousand species are created by cosmic force Adi parashakti. Two opposite forces-equal and opposite are created as Satyarupa (Aditi) and Diti as consorts of Kashyapa, the self effulgent, svayambhuva manu. From Aditi are created Sun, vayu, soma, Indra, agni, varuna, aryaman, pushan, ashvin, vasu- all considered the Vedic Devata. The human beings are created by svayambhu manu Kashyap and Aditi while all others including the demons are created by Diti. Brahma creates, Vishnu nurtures and Ishvara neutralizes the forces of fusion and fission. The energy component of the Trinity- brahma, vishnu, and Ishvara will be reflected in the human beings as the ‘Atman’. The Atma is the chaitanya of vishnu, intellect and creativity comes from Ishvara, and, finally the humans can cognize and realize Atman and experience sat chit and ananda only through self awareness. There are no physical entities or parents and off-springs as such here. Body, mind and intellect as well as the soul spontaneously generated tuned to cosmic energy of the supreme spirit sol, paramatman. The scientists are still busy in finding the mystery involved in the creation of life. The molecular biologists have discovered the constituents of the structure and composition of the cell- the protein gel membrane that covers the cells, the genes and their inherent characteristics, the DNA and RNA chains, the amino acids, enzymes, the vitamins, hormones, and the chromosomes are all now known but for the exact source of their energy component, may be traced to an extraneous source that can never be described!