Miscellaneous - Religion   

Spiritual endeavour

CHENNAI: The basic requirement for attaining union with God is to fully comprehend the truth about Him, the universe, and the Jivatma, and the interrelatedness of these. The Bhagavad Gita's greatness lies in the fact that the Lord Himself has revealed the true nature of all these, while showing the many routes that are available to reach Him.

The Jivatmas have been on this perpetual quest and the Lord Himself describes the path ahead as rugged. Though it is guaranteed by Him that the objective is attainable, the fact that it is difficult is also emphasised. Swamini Satyavratananda drew attention to the fact that Upasana (spiritual effort) that concentrates on eliminating the hindrances that obscure the goal is mandatory to dispel the darkness of ignorance. Just as one has to make an attempt to light a lamp when caught in darkness, the Jivatma caught in Samsara, has no alternative other than trying to seek the light of Knowledge that can dispel ignorance. A major hurdle is the lure of worldly pleasures that cause one to be enveloped in spiritual darkness. In this state one easily mistakes the joys of the material world as something real and fails to perceive their ephemeral nature.

The greatest challenge for human beings is to break away from the pulls of the world. It must be clearly understood that the roots of desire lie in the notion that physical existence is enduring and everlasting.

Apart from its enticing nature, the illusory Maya also feeds the sense of ego in the Jivatma in a most convincing manner, when one takes pride in one's achievements and gives in to elation. This identification of the Self with the body must be understood as a false perception and it has to be snapped.

It is repeatedly stressed that bodily and worldly attachments have to be relinquished totally to attain the goal. The awareness of God as the only source responsible for the entire creation and sustenance of the universe in which the Self is also a part, is to be felt and understood.

It is necessary that one understands and acknowledges the supremacy of the Lord, and practises meditation dedicating one's actions to Him without the desire for rewards. In short, if one surrenders to the Almighty, one is sure to attain Him.

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