Miscellaneous - Religion   

Spiritual guidance

CHENNAI: Human birth is a great opportunity for individuals to strive for liberation from the cycle of birth and death. A truly great spiritual teacher can guide sincere aspirants in the right path. Such teachers have had the benefit of the divine grace, and in their own way have been endowed with the wisdom that has helped them to directly experience the divine. Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual prowess was tremendous since he had felt such an impact, said Swami Gautamananda in a lecture. He had attained such a level of spirituality that he was able to communicate it to others. From the large following he had, it is clear that his immediate disciples had felt the vibrations of the divine in his presence, and his teachings continue to influence and guide the common man to pursue the spiritual path.

What is of utmost importance is the need to develop total detachment towards worldly associations as they are major obstacles to this quest.

Sri Ramakrishna's life is an example to all of us, because he had shied away from these during his lifetime, and has shown how to overcome these hurdles.

To cultivate detachment, it is not necessary that one has to adopt the monastic way of life, or withdraw from worldly life.

It is the spirit of renunciation that has to be cultivated deep within, which then takes control and becomes the driving force of one's thought, word and deed. Though it is the most difficult attitude to practise, this alone can lead one caught in the worldly existence in the right direction. Renunciation is seeing God everywhere and in everything, realising His divine presence in the heart of all things. Therefore, renouncing vain and worldly appearances, one should meditate on God. The Bhagavad Gita repeatedly stresses that every individual has to perform the duties of everyday life, with a sense of detachment towards the fruits of such actions and in a spirit of dedication to the Lord. What one should realise is that we cannot escape the life on earth, but understand that the Lord dwells within each one of us as a witness. Along with the consciousness of the brief existence of life if one pursues the spiritual determination to gain liberation, there is every chance of developing a spirit of renunciation.

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