Miscellaneous - Religion   

The spiritual quest

CHENNAI: The goal of human birth, which is liberation from bondage, must not be lost sight of by an individual amidst the hassles of daily life. The objective of pursuing a career is to be economically self-sufficient and also support those who are dependent on oneself but this should not sidetrack the person from his spiritual quest. But, in practice this is easier said than done because it is very easy to miss the wood for the trees.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa once advised a young devotee who had travelled a long distance to meet him, after learning about his indisposition, to remain with him to pursue the spiritual path intensively giving up his career. This was in contrast to his usual advice to devotees to follow the spiritual path as householders. He foresaw as a Guru his spiritual potential.

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said irrespective of one’s position in life it was essential to constantly stay attuned to the truth that one belonged to God, and that man was essentially the Self (Atman), which was infinite. The human mind is by nature fickle and the body also becomes afflicted by infirmities as a person advances in age. But, if he understands that the “I” is the Self and not the body-mind, he will then be able to identify with the unchanging nature of the Self. It is possible to remain poised in the Self through meditation and prayer which are the means to reinforce one’s relationship with God. In prayer one must seek His grace to never forget one’s eternal relationship with Him.

Daily prayer will enable one to identify with the Supreme Being who is eternal existence (Sat), consciousness (Chit) and bliss (Ananda), which in turn will make him identify with the Self within. Such identification will enable him to distance himself from his body and mind without getting perturbed by the afflictions that beset them. The Bhagavad Gita succinctly portrays how this difference is crucial to Self-realisation: “Whoever perceives by spiritual insight the distinction between Nature (Kshetra, literally meaning field, the body) and the knower (Kshetrajna, the Spirit, the Self) as also the freedom of the knower from the hold of Nature, he reaches the Supreme.”

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