Divine Life
Society Publication: Kind courtesy
of "Tapovan
Prasad." This is from an interview with our Most Revered President
Swamiji Maharaj, published in two parts in November and December, 2003.
Q. Vedanta philosophy clearly states that the goal of life is to attain
the state of Self-realization. What is this state and why is this the goal of
life?
The Vedic rishis found that
everything in the world that blooms is also subject to ultimate decay and
dissolution. They reasoned that life cannot be devoid of some higher purpose,
especially when we are the only species of living beings who have the ability
to think and reflect.
After generations of
investigations and after having raised their consciousness to a very subtle
level, they came to the Truth through direct experience. They declared that
beneath this mortal body seen by the world of man is an immortal spirit unseen
by the world of man. And that Eternal in the non-eternal body, that
Imperishable in the perishable body is actually part of a vast, infinite,
eternal, beginningless, endless, cosmic Spirit. Timeless, beginningless and
endless. It exists. It does not exist as an inert piece. It is Consciousness, very
much aware that it exists. It knows—I
exist. So it is conscious existence. Existence is Sat, Consciousness is Chit.
So it is Sat Chit.
And in that state of pure Sat
chit (Existence-Consciousness) many are the imperfect, negative experiences man
is subject to once he is born in this mortal world—heat and cold, pleasure and
pain, loss and gain, honor and dishonor. All these things assail man. But all
these travails that man is subject to in this mortal world have no access to
that lofty, sublime, transcendental realm, where abides only peace and bliss.
There is Ananda in that Sat Chit. So it is Sat Chit Ananda. That is the nearest
way you could define or describe that state of eternal Existence, which is also
referred to as Brahman. And to realize and enter this state is called Self-realization.
Self-realization is the goal
of life because in that state there are no sorrows. Once you discover that you
are the infinite, imperishable, eternal reality—you are liberated from all
sorrow. In that state, there is only pure and permanent bliss and joy. Isn’t
that the goal of each and every one of us?
Q. But there is joy in this mortal world, too?
Yes, but it is neither pure
nor permanent. If a thing is capable of giving you a pleasurable sensation,
that same thing is capable of giving you a painful sensation also. This happens
because the world is imperfect and man is imperfect. In one sloka in the Gita,
the advice is that pleasure is the womb of pain. In seeking pleasure, you have
already created your pain.
Thus, pleasure in worldly
objects and people is neither pure nor permanent. If you want real, continuous
happiness that does not change or end—then rise above petty desires and seek
the ultimate Reality. There is supreme Bliss, supreme satisfaction in it—an
indescribable joy and peace.
So make use of this life. It
is a golden opportunity. While fulfilling your duties here, be a seeker of
Truth, seeker of Brahman. Seek Self-realization. In the word, ‘Self-realization’,
‘Self does not mean your little self. It means your supreme Self. This is why
Self is written with a big ‘S’. Know your real Self.
Your mortal body is only a
vehicle given to you to function upon this earth. But you are distinct from it.
You are an immortal part of divinity. And when that is realized, one realizes
that I am aware, one with that limitless ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda. I’m a little
wave, but I’m part of the ocean. There’s no difference between the wave and the
ocean. The wave may appear separate because it has a size and a form. But that
is momentary and then it goes back into the ocean. From the ocean it arises,
for a moment it exists, and then it goes back into the ocean.
Q. How does the world appear to such a Self-realized person?
The world appears just as it
is. But he realizes that the fabric of the world is not what he thought it was
before. He realizes that it is nothing but the Brahman principle.
Q. In one of Swami Sivanandaji’s books, there is a mention of a void
before Self-realization. What is this void?
You see, until the point where
you attain Self-realization, there is still a trace of the human
personality—human personality identity consciousness. One still feels that I am
so and so. Even though he says God, God, God, God—there is also a little bit of
I with God. There is 95% divinity and 5% this I. And this I is a myth. You are
actually a part and parcel of God. You are 100% divine. So this "I"
has to go. As long as it is there, that Consciousness is not complete and
perfect.
Let me give you an analogy. A
river flows, flows, flows, flows. At last, it approaches the sea. And then it
enters into the sea. But even after having entered into the sea, till quite
some distance, the water still tastes sweet. Because the river has not left its
river-ness completely. It still retains its river-ness, although its two banks
are finished. Bank-less, it is already in the sea. But after it goes further into
the sea, a time comes when the water is no longer sweet. It is the salt water
of the sea alone. That stage when the river is gone, but the vastness of the
sea has not yet been attained, that interim period when it is neither the river
nor the sea—that is the void.
Let me give you another
example. You come to a point where there is nothing but the edge of a precipice
and yawning chasm. And the actual experience is on the other side of the chasm.
Unless you leave this precipice, you cannot go to the other side. So there is a
point where ultimately he takes the leap. When he takes the leap, he is lifted
up into the air. But he has not yet landed there. So there is a point where he
has left this precipice, but not yet landed on the other side. In between, where
is he? Nowhere. That nowhere is the spiritual void. At that time, neither is
the human ego there nor has the divine Consciousness come. At that time, they
say there is a void. But, of course, in the spiritual context, the duration of
the void may be a little longer.
Q. When he lands on the other side, is that Sahaja-samadhi or is he at
a stage where he can still slip in and out?
It is the ultimate state, the
ultimate Samadhi. Until that stage there is still duality, a trace of duality.
Once you are there, there is absolute non-duality. You are one with Brahman.
Excerpts from:
Swami Chidananda on
Self-Realization
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