[Advaita-l] Thanks for all the very experienced comments on self realisation

[vijaya1.kambhampati at tiscali.co.uk]

Hi to all,

Thank you to all for their kind and very experienced comments on where 
a very ordinary person stands with respect to the need for self 
realisation in his or her life.

As Sunilji says 'real sanyasha should be in spirit, one has to 
practice it in real lifre through selfless work. We cannot be egoless 
just theoretically'. 

However, in life and while working we expect people to be kind to us 
and polite to us. Is that being egoistic or expecting too much. So how 
attached must we be to how people treat us at work. The director of a 
company would react if her/his secretary was rude to her/him.- as it is 
not workable. Would that be egoistic. Sometimes it may be the other way 
round and a senior cleverer person may be rude unnecessarily to a 
junior staff he may be angry with.  How should the junior staff react 
to rude behaviour or would you say that all behaviour towards us is 
asked for by us in this birth or previous birth.

I was also happy to agree with Kuntimaddi ji when he wrote about the 
requirement for a quiet mind to self realise-  'If the mind is purified 
enough then it first sees the viswarauupa of the Lord - as His presence 
everywhere. The all pervading Lord cannot be only in Himalayas, right? 
For that I need to understand the nature of Brahman and the nature of 
this world as mithyaa - it is an understanding as understanding as a 
fact not just as a thought. Calm and quiet environment is helpful for 
any serious study and contemplation and more so when I am trying to 
divert my mind to the subtlest of all- the self that I am.'

My only worry being that I do not see myself at this moment as being 
able to renounce worldly attachments for many years. I find it hard to 
be quiet most moments of the day. While I can avoid or blot out 
thoughts, in the process I could also lose alertness which is a 
hindrance to awakening I have heard.

This takes me to the point by Nagarajan ji that ' We can do a simple 
test, where we can try to sit in one
>place for an hour.? If we are honest, we will find that we are unable 
to do
>so because of constant chattering and the corresponding association 
that is
>going on our mind.? So, it wouldn't matter if we sit in our house or
>himalayas, our >thoughts are our enemy.? It is not easy to control 
the modification of the
>mind.? It takes time to aware of our vasanas and gain purification of 
mind
>through Sadhana'. 

You are right Nagarajan ji - To quieten the mind is very difficult as 
the ego feels redundant. To act for the lord without thoughts would 
make me feel out of control and my ego would feel useless. The notion 
that I thought of the good deed  to do for the day makes me feel in 
control even if all good acts are god ordained.  

And finally I have found it reassuring that as Srikanta ji quotes 
'Shankara Bhagawatpada in his
>commentaries on Brahmasutras,Upanishads,Bhagawadgita reiterates that
>Self-realization is within everyone's reach.No vidhi or kriya can 
help one
>to attain it.His illustious disciple,Sureshwaracharya also in his
>"Naishkarmyasiddhi"again and again says that self-realization is 
possible
>in this very birth.' 

I think the problem for many of us aspirants is that we are so 
enamoured with the material world itself, that we may not at the bottom 
of our heart desire to ever leave it even though it is maya. Eternal 
bliss seems nice but unachievable as we are so stuck on the world of 
matter. Until some unpleasant situation develops in our life we do not 
seek self realisation because we have made it our mission in life to 
have pleasurable moments only and importantly do not have the endurance 
to cope with anything else.

Anyhow, in conclusion I have also heard that in Kali yug, moksha will 
be achieved more quickly by those who try. I may be wrong !!!!!!


Thank you to Advaita list for answering my quetions so kindly.

Best Wishes,
Vijaya Kambhampati.