meenasundar’s blog

Self- realization ' a matter of experience

The mind is not eternal in nature. For instance, it fails to function during sleep. But the consciousness of the self never ceases. The 'I' consciousness is present, whether a person is awake, sleeping or dreaming. The mind acquires the qualities of the self in its interactions with the world. To realize the self, we have first to intellectually grasp that the self is different from the mind. But the mind is unable to intuit the self, since thoughts are constantly arising in it, however, once the mind becomes one-pointed, it gains knowledge of the self. And that becomes a matter of experience.

Characteristics of a wise man

One's desires will meet with success, in proportion to the respect one pays to the Law of Morality. The chief characteristics of a wise person are that he always aspire for nobler ideals in life. His assets will be forbearance, hard work and steadiness, while his acts will be rooted in virtue. Neither anger nor joy, pride nor false modesty or vanity will distract him from his purpose. He will not hesitate to seek counsel from the learned as many times as is necessary. He will neither get puffed up with praise, nor hate criticism and will obey the commands of elders.

Ego is responsible for man's bondage.

Essentially, every person's body-mind-intellect is unique to him. But, if this sense of ego ( I ) is absent then a person does not acquire karma, just as the actions of saints do not bind them, as they do not have an ego. In the case of worldly people, their strong sense of ego influences all their actions and hence they get entrapped in the vicious circle of transmigration. While experiencing the fruits of their past karma. They accumulate more and more karma by their actions, resulting in further births. A spiritual aspirant should therefore, try to emulate saints, by surrendering the fruit of all his actions to God.

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Self-control is most important

Acquisition of enormous wealth, knowledge, status or fame will be a waste if a person lacks character and integrity. Discipline is essential, as it is only a well-regulated life that ultimately succeeds. Learning can be worthless if a person cannot exercise self-control in his conduct. It is equally important that one's thoughts, words and deeds should all conform to each other. The case of Ravana warns us against succumbing to temptations, by not controlling our senses as, invincible though he was, it was moral turpitude that caused his ruin. On the other hand, Rama remained steadfast to virtue and succeeded.

Promise in haste, repeat at leisure

Over-enthusiasm and deep attachment at times make a person extend a promise that may cause him grief later, when he finds it impossible to fulfil it. Even the most sagacious persons may sometimes yield to this weakness, not immediately realizing that changed circumstances may make them give up their plighted words. Hence, one should be extremely judicious before extending a promise to anyone. To discharge the obligation may not be practicable whereas to carry it out may be against the code of conduct and thus even an astute person will remain caught on the horns of dilemma.